Uncommon Alliances
by phoenixrangers
Summary: Harry returns to Hogwarts for his fifth year after the disasterous triwizard tournament and the rebirth of Voldemort. A new American student joins Harry and the others in their Fifth year to fight Umbridge, the Inquisitorial squad, and Voldemort's rise to power. This new student could be just what Hogwarts needed, but he is concealing dark secrets of his own.
1. Chapter 1 The New Student

**Disclaimer: I do not own or profit in any way from this work. All aspects of the Harry Potter universe belong to J.K. Rowling and affiliated groups. Please ask permission before copying and/or using ideas from the story. Thanks for reading, Phoenixrangers.**

**Chapter 1: The New student**

London's downtown traffic was particularly heavy on the morning of September the first. Dreary clouds hung low over the city and mixed with the smog from the ceaseless streams of cars passing through the capital of England. The vast majority of the city's population went about their daily business without realizing that the first day of September had a special importance to a small number of individuals. These people are muggles, normal everyday nonmagical folk, who live in ignorance of the magic world existing alongside their own.

The first day of September was the beginning of the fall term for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Young witches and wizards from all across the British Isles were descending on London, or more specifically, King's Cross train station. At nine AM there were few magical people about, but in a few short hours one of the largest gatherings of wizards would take place amongst the crowded platforms of the station.

One lone figure stood out among the press of muggles on the platform early in the morning. A tall man, just over six feet, pushed his way past stiff suited businessmen and tired travelers. His name is Kevin Kohana, and he was here to attend Hogwarts for the first time. Kevin did not look anything like the typical first year Hogwarts student. He was wearing a faded rain jacket with the hood pulled up to conceal his face. Dark grey eyes peered out from the depths of the hood to watch all of the activity around him in interest. His raven hair hung down around his ears and framed his proud face with high cheekbones and broad forehead. His coat only partially concealed his powerful build, and he received more than one nervous glance from a passing commuter.

Kevin pushed a trolley ahead of him along the platform. A solid hardwood trunk rested on the trolley, with a covered rectangular cage set on top. Occasionally rustling could be heard from the covered cage. His dark eyes scanned the overhead signs as he pushed further down the station. Platform seven, eight, nine, and then he stopped before reaching platform ten. Kevin pulled a crumpled piece of parchment from his pocket. _The Hogwarts Express leaves precisely at eleven o'clock from platform nine and three quarters, King's Cross, London._

"This must be it," Kevin muttered to no one as he stowed the ticket deep in his pocket. Taking a deep breath, he ran at the solid barrier between the two platforms. The next moment he stood in front of a gleaming scarlet steam engine, the Hogwarts Express. The steam shrouded platform was completely deserted at nine thirty in the morning. It would be half an hour before anyone else arrived. Kevin pushed the trolley to the very last car on the train. He easily carried his trunk into one of the compartments and hoisted it into the overhead rack.

A sharp yip came from the covered cage resting on a seat. Kevin smiled and pulled a piece of dried beef from a pocket of his coat and held it up to the cage. A reddish snout shot out and grabbed the meat from between his fingers before retreating back into the darkened confines of the cage. A quick glance out the window confirmed that the platform was still deserted. Without anything else to do, Kevin stretched out over four seats and closed his eyes to rest for a few minutes.

Kevin awoke when the door of his compartment was pulled open from outside. He was on his feet with his alder wand raised before the young girl even realized he was in the compartment.

"I, I'm sorry. I d, d, didn't know you were in here. I'll just leave now," a little girl stuttered.

"It's okay. You just surprised me, that's all. You can stay here if you want." Kevin told the frightened girl after lowering his wand.

"No, I'll go find another compartment. I don't want to bother you." The girl turned and ran down the train, obviously terrified.

'That went well,' Kevin thought to himself. 'I scare away the first person I meet. I hope the rest of the year turns out better than this.' Kevin was about to sit back down when he glanced out the window. The platform was now packed with people who were getting on the train or had come to see sons, daughters, brothers, or sisters off to school.

Right outside the window two nearly identical girls around his age were hugging an older woman who could only be their mother. Two people pushed roughly passed them with a trunk floating a few inches above the ground trailing the two. The two were obviously father and son. The elder of the two was dressed in shimmering silk robes and carried an ornate walking stick which he used to push others out of his way. His son imitated his superior air perfectly. His robes were not silk, but they were expertly made and lined with silver and green thread. Both had blond hair carefully arrayed. Kevin watched the two until they disappeared beyond the window frame. A tall boy with dreadlocks stood waiting not far from where the pair had disappeared. The dreadlocked boy was watching the entrance arch like he was waiting for someone to arrive.

The platform began to empty as all of the children gave their families one last hug before boarding the train. Checking his watch, Kevin saw there was only five minutes until the train departed. The boy with dreadlocks began to look anxious as the departure time crept nearer. Suddenly he began waving wildly while shouting something unintelligible to Kevin. Following the boys gaze, Kevin saw a large group of people appearing through the barrier from the muggle side of the platform. Several members of the group had bright red hair, who Kevin could assume were all related. Also accompanying the group were a young woman with bubblegum pink hair, and a man with a wooden leg and a bowler had pulled low over one of his eyes.

Two other kids were also with the group. One was a young woman with bushy brown hair who clutched a cat carrier. The other was a young man wearing baggy clothes and who was rather thin. He wore round wire rimmed glasses and kept brushing his unkempt black hair out of his eyes. Kevin recognized the boy as the most known figure in the wizarding world. Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the defeater of the most powerful dark lord in history, was standing on the platform. The boy certainly didn't look like anything special. The younger portion of the group was quickly shepherded onto the train by the harried red headed mother. The luggage was piled onto the train just as the warning whistle blew. Moments later the train lurched into motion and sped away from the station on the way to Hogwarts.

Kevin was just pulling a large book from his trunk to pass the time when the compartment door slid open behind him. He turned to see three of the people from the platform. Harry Potter, as well as the bushy haired girl and the youngest redhead boy stood uncertainly in the doorway.

"Hi, do you mind if we sit here? All the other compartments are full. Oh, is that Hogwarts, A History? I think the history of the castle is fascinating, and all of the magic that went into building it. I would have loved to meet the founders myself, they all sound amazing."

Bloody Hell, Hermione. Give the man a chance to breathe before you interrogate him. I'm Ron Weasley, by the way. This is Hermione Granger," the redhead said while gesturing to the bushy haired girl. "And this is Harry Potter."

Despite himself, Kevin couldn't prevent his eyes from darting up to Harry's forehead where the famous lightning bolt scar rested. Harry seemed nervous and flattened his hair over his scar to hide it from view. "Yeah, come on in. I don't mind. I'm Kevin Kohana. I'm here as an exchange student from the Salem School of Sorcery. As for this," He raised Hogwarts, A History, "I bought it over the summer when I planned on coming here, but haven't gotten a chance t read it yet."

"Well, you don't need to read it now. Hermione here is our own walking version of the book." Ron told him.

"Ron!" Hermione scolded. "Other people can read things for themselves. Besides, we need to get to the prefect meeting."

"Bloody annoying, that. Well, see you later Harry. You too Kevin." With Harry's help, Ron loaded the three trunks into the luggage rack and followed Hermione down the train.

Kevin and Harry both sat in an uncomfortable silence for several minutes. Harry stared at a spot on the floor while Kevin watched the outskirts of London flash past the window. They both jumped slightly when the compartment door opened again and three people entered.

"Hi Harry. Do you mind if we sit with you and," The red haired girl began.

"Kevin. Kevin Kohana." He told them.

"Oh, well I'm Ginny Weasley. This is Neville Longbottom, and this is Luna Lovegood," She said, gesturing to each of them in turn. "I don't think I've ever seen you before. What year are you in?" She asked Kevin.

"This is my first year at Hogwarts. I'm an exchange student from the Salem School of Sorcery. I'll be a fifth year here, though." Kevin told them.

"Cool. That's the same year as Neville, Ron, Hermione, and I," Harry said. "Which house will you be in? All of us are in Gryffindor."

"I don't know yet. I'm supposed to find out which house I'll be in this evening during the feast. You wouldn't know how they determine which house everyone is in, are you?" Kevin began to get a little nervous when every other occupant of the compartment exchanged mischievous glances and began smiling.

"We might know a little. It's usually a fairly easy test. Last year you had to wrestle a troll, and your house was based on the time you managed to avoid being hit." Ginny said.

"Yeah, and the year before that it was swimming across the lake. Only two first years needed to be rescued from the giant squid at the end." Neville added.

"This year will probably involve the forbidden forest. Maybe you'll have to spend the night and get sorted in the morning." Ginny continued. Kevin looked slightly incredulous as he scanned their faces. Finally, he settled on Harry and gave him a withering stare. Harry was only able to keep a straight face for a few seconds before he burst out laughing. The others soon followed.

"Sorry," Harry gasped, "but it's a Hogwarts tradition to never reveal how you are sorted. You'll just have to wait until the feast tonight. I can tell you that the test is simple and not painful."

"Thanks a lot." Kevin grumbled. "You could have just said that in the first place."

"What's the fun in that?" Ginny asked. "Besides, if you think we're bad you need to meet my brothers. Fred and George are considered the greatest troublemakers in Hogwarts since the time of Harry's parents. The Marauders are still a school legend."

"The marauders?" Kevin asked.

"That's what my father and his friends called themselves while in school. My dad was the leader, and the others were Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew." Harry told him, spitting out Peter's name in disgust.

Kevin let the subject drop while Neville and Ginny looked at Harry with concern. They weren't used to seeing him this angry. Luna, who was sitting opposite Neville, pulled a magazine titled _The Quibbler_ from her bag. Kevin noticed that she was reading the magazine upside down. Deciding not to question anything, he went back to starring out the window at the passing scenery.

"Hey, guess what I got over the summer." Neville pulled a strange gray cactus out of his trunk. Small boils covered the plant instead of spines, and it seemed to pulse in Neville's hands. "This is a Mimbulus Mimbletonia. My uncle Algie got it from Assyria, and they're supposed to be really rare. I don't think they have one at Hogwarts, even. It also has a really interesting defense mechanism. Want to see?"

"Sure." Everyone replied a bit hesitantly, slightly wary of Neville's sudden enthusiasm.

"Here, hold Trevor." Neville pulled a toad out of his pocket and dumped it in Harry's lap. He then pulled a quill out of his pocket. Carefully picking a spot, Neville poked the plant sharply with the tip of the quill just as the door to the compartment slid open. Great jets of green slime spurted from every boil on the plant. Kevin and Ginny threw their hands up to protect their faces while Luna hid behind her upside down newspaper. Harry and Neville, whose hands were occupied with the plant and containing the Trevor, were covered in the slime from the waist up. The worst hit, however, was the young woman standing in the open door. She had long silky black hair and bright eyes that were wide with shock and anger. Her entire front was covered in the green slime, and her open mouth was filled with the stuff. She seemed frozen in surprise, and just stared at the rest of them. The worst part was the strong smell of manure the slime gave off.

"I'm sorry, Cho, I was just showing the others my new plant. Don't worry, stinksap isn't poisonous." Neville said when the girl had spit her mouthful of slime onto the floor. Cho didn't say anything. Tears began to stream down her cheeks as she turned and ran from the compartment.

"Cho, wait. What did you want?" Harry called after her, but received no answer.

"Don't worry about it, Harry. Cho's probably still having trouble getting over Cedric from last year," Ginny told him.

"She's not the only one," Harry mutter so quietly that Kevin was the only one close enough to hear. Kevin knew that the triwizard tournament had been hosted at Hogwarts the previous year, and that one student had been killed during the final task, but he did not know the details. Seeing the look of pain on Harry's face, he decided not to ask any questions.

"Don't worry, we can get rid of this stuff easily," Ginny said. She pulled out her wand and muttered "evanesco." The green slime vanished, but a faint stench of cow manure remained.

"Sorry about that. I've never done that before. Normally it just shoots out a little stinksap." Neville apologized.

"Don't worry, the smell drove away any Wrackspurts _check and see if this is the correct creature _that were in the room. They make your brain all fuzzy." Luna said in a dreamy sort of voice. She immediately went back to reading her magazine, ignoring the stares from the other occupants of the compartment.

"Does anyone want to play a game of exploding snap?" Ginny asked as she pulled a deck of cards from her trunk. Everyone but Luna agrees, and soon they had a boisterous game going. While playing, Kevin told the others more about his life in America, what his school was like there, and his friends from school. He didn't say much about his parents other than his father was a full blooded Sioux Indian and his mother was a member of the magical branch of the American military. Eventually the topic changed to what everyone had done over the summer. Kevin didn't join in this discussion, and noticed that Harry didn't say much either except that his summer was "A normal one spent with the Dursley's."

When Neville tried to question him about an apparent dementor attack and trial, Harry just said he didn't want to talk about it, and threw down his cards when Neville persisted. The entire pile of cards blew up in their face, immediately ending the game. Ron and Hermione returned to find the compartment filled with smoke, and every member sporting small burns from the cards.

"What happened here?" Hermione asked immediately. "You haven't been fighting?"

"No, Hermione." Ginny said crossly. "Harry just decided to blow up the entire deck of cards in our face. All Neville wanted to know was what happened over the summer."

"And I don't want to talk about it," Harry said. "You must have read the paper over the summer; it was all explained in there."

"The ministry approved version was in the Prophet. With everything they have been saying about you this summer, I thought the true story would be different than the one printed in the Prophet. I don't believe anything that paper has printed about you this summer." Neville said.

"I don't want to talk about it. Just know that nobody was hurt, and I got off without any punishment. The trial was more as a punishment for saying Voldemort had returned than anything else."

When Harry said Voldemort's name, everyone in the compartment shuddered except Harry, Luna, and Kevin. Neville was so surprised that he dropped his Mimbulus Mimbletonia. Only a quick lunge by Kevin saved the plant from striking the floor. Harry and Ginny both sighed in relief when Kevin managed to catch the plant without covering the compartment in stinksap again.

"Don't drop this again. One bath in stinksap is more than enough," Kevin told the embarrassed Neville when he handed the grey cactus back to the boy.

Ron and Hermione finally dropped into the two free seats nearest the door. Neither seemed to realize just how close they had come to getting covered in stinksap. "I'll give you one guess who's the new Slytherin prefect," Ron said.

Harry Groaned. "Not Malfoy?"

Ron nodded. "Good guess. The pig Pansy is the other Slytherin prefect."

"Who are the other prefects?" Harry asked

"Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott from Hufflepuff, and Anthony Goldstein with Padma Patil for Ravenclaw." Hermione said. "Malfoy is already abusing his badge by abusing the younger students. We saw him throw two students out of a compartment so he and his friends could have it for themselves. If he keeps this up, I will report him."

"Report me for what, Granger? My blood?" No one had heard the compartment door slide open again. Three boys stood in the doorway. The pale, blond haired boy Kevin had seen on the platform stood in the middle with a sneer on his ferretlike face. He was the one who had spoken. Two hulking gorilla like boys flanked him, looking like a combination of enforcer and bodyguard. "All the other little mudbloods actually have the intelligence to give me the respect I deserve, unlike you. With the dark lord back, it won't be long before you receive the punishment you deserve."

Harry, Ron, and Ginny all surged to their feet while reaching for their wands. "Take that back, Malfoy, before we make you!" Ron demanded. The two hulking bodyguards moved in front of Malfoy, cracking their knuckles threateningly.

"Careful, Potter, careful. I might just have to give you a detention. I'm a prefect, so you have to listen to me this year." Malfoy drawled.

Ron and I are prefects too, Malfoy." Hermione told him. "Why don't you just leave the rest of us alone?"

"I'll leave when I want to, mudblood, and not when you ask me to." He snapped. At this, Kevin decided he had had enough from Malfoy.

"I believe she asked you to leave. Now get out." Everyone looked to Kevin in surprise as he slowly stood. For the first time he pulled off his worn jacket. Beneath, he wore a sleeveless leather vest over a plain green shirt. His bare arms were heavily muscled and as big around as Malfoy's pale head. The most striking feature, though, was the four parallel scars running from his left shoulder down to the inside of his elbow. It looked almost as if he had been clawed by some animal.

Malfoy's smirk slid off his face as he backed away from Kevin to hide behind his two towering bodyguards. His eyes were locked on the scar running along Kevin's arm. His nervous look changed to fear when he realized that Kevin was larger than either of his two bodyguards, and looked much fiercer. "Who are you?" He asked.

"My name's Kevin," Kevin told him. "I'm an exchange student from the Salem School of Sorcery in America."

"Well, I guess I can't fault you for your poor choice in friends when you don't know anyone here. It must just be bad luck that you picked the worst group in the entire school. You picked the compartment with the mudblood bookworm, blood traitor weasels, fat squib, and the lying potty. You might want to consider forgetting about these people and making friends with true British wizards," Malfoy said.

"I can make my own choices, thanks. And I don't want to make friends with anyone who you consider a true British wizard. I've dealt with people like you before, and I won't take any insults from you."

"Are you threatening me? You'll pay for that later." Malfoy threatened with a sneer.

"I'm sure. Just remember, don't start a fight that you're not prepared to finish. Now get out." Malfoy and his two bodyguards retreated under Kevin's withering glare, and he shut the door behind them.

"You sure had him running scared. The little weasel will probably be horrible all year now that daddy's little boss is back." Ron said.

"What?" Kevin asked.

"You've heard about the return of Voldemort?" Harry asked before Ron could speak.

"Yes. Just so you know, I don't believe everything your ministry is printing about you being a liar." Kevin told him.

"Thanks." Harry said a bit uncertainly, having not read most of the ministry claims himself. "Anyway, Malfoy's father was one of Voldemort's closest supporters before Voldemort fell. He is also a powerful member of the wizenagamot and a friend of minister Fudge."

"Wait, are you saying that the head of your ministry is friends with a servant of Voldemort?" Kevin asked.

Harry nodded. "Malfoy uses his money and influence to weaken the ministry and draw attention away from Vol…" Harry was cut off.

"Oi! Will you stop saying his name already!" Ron yelled. "You know we don't like to hear it."

"Sorry. Malfoy draws attention away from You-Know-Who. The ministry is doing nothing to prepare to confront him while he continues to gather followers. So far he hasn't done anything to draw attention to himself. Nobody wants to believe that You-Know-Who is back, so they just ignore it."

"They'll come to their senses eventually. Once Voldemort…"

"Oi!"

"Get over it. Once Voldemort begins attacking others they will come to their senses." Kevin told them.

"I just hope it won't be too late to stop him by then," Harry mumbled. The others looked guilty and nervous at the prospect of Voldemort attacking their friends and family. The train rattled over a high bridge crossing a swift river before anyone spoke again.

"Who were the two goons following Malfoy?" Kevin asked the others.

"They were his self appointed bodyguards Crabbe and Goyle. The two follow him everywhere. They're strong, but not very bright."

"They looked like they're not used to someone standing against them. I can't wait for the two of them to try fighting me."

"Are you sure you can handle Crabbe and Goyle by yourself?" Ginny asked.

Kevin smiled. "I'm sure. Those two are big, but they got their strength from their parents, not hard work. There's a big difference between the two. I can guarantee those two haven't had much experience against anyone as strong as they are."

"I hope you end up in Gryffindor. It's almost a prerequisite to make an enemy of Malfoy before you can be sorted into the house." Ron said.

"Can you tell us more about America and the Salem academy?" Hermione asked.

"Sure." Kevin spent the rest of the trip describing life in America and how it differed from what he had seen so far in Britain. Kevin described life with the American auror corp, since he spent most of his Christmas and Easter holidays living at Fort Meade. He also related his story about a hunt with his father when he was thirteen. Kevin revealed that the scar on his arm had come from a dog that attacked him one day.

Harry bought a large pile of cauldron cakes and chocolate frogs from the trolley to share with everyone. Soon all the talk about dark lords was forgotten, and the seven teenagers were having a great time swapping chocolate frog cards. When darkness fell, the group took turns changing into their robes. Since he had yet to be sorted, Kevin's robes were solid black. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville all had red on their robes to symbolize Gryffindor, and Luna had blue for Ravenclaw.

Half an hour later the Hogwarts Express began to slow down with a slight screech of brakes. A few minutes later the train stopped at the brightly lit Hogsmeade station. Ron and Hermione left after exacting promises someone would look after their pets. Kevin carefully picked up his still covered cage and followed Harry, Neville, and Ginny into the flow of students in the corridor. Many students stared at Kevin, but he ignored them. A few feet ahead, Harry seemed to be looking for someone without success.

Near the end of the platform a woman was shouting "First years over here! Right this way! First Years!" Harry and Ginny seemed confused by her presence. They were whispering frantically, and he only caught scattered phrases. "Where's Hagrid? Back from mission. Grubley Plank." Made little sense to him. From their reaction though, it was clear that this woman was not normally here.

"Hey, Kevin. Do you know where Pig is?" Ron asked, suddenly appearing at his elbow.

"Pig?"

"My owl. Stupid name, but blame it on Ginny."

"I think Luna had him. Ginny also had Hermione's cat."

"Kevin, have you seen Crookshanks?" Hermione had caught up to Ron and him.

"Ginny has him," He said, correctly guessing that Crookshanks was her cat. "There she is, over by that carriage." Kevin looked away from the carriage to continue looking for Luna, since he was one of the tallest in the crowd, when he did a double take. Hitched to the front of the carriages, standing quietly while the students swarmed around them, were several horses. These horses were not normal however. Each was jet black and skeletal; looking like someone had taken a horse skeleton and stretched leathery skin over it. Bat like wings lay folded over the horses back while the dead looking eyed idly watched passing students. Kevin recognized the horses as Thestrals. They were supposed to be impossible to train, but someone had obviously taught them to pull the school carriages.

Everyone else completely ignored the horses, with the exception of one person. Harry stood rooted in front of the carriage, staring at the Thestral not five feet from him. Harry quickly pulled Ron over when he reached the carriage with Kevin and Hermione.

"What is it?" Harry asked him.

"What's what?"

"There, pulling the carriages. What are they?"

"There's nothing there, Harry. The carriages are pulling themselves, like always." Hermione told him.

"Can't, Can't you see them." Harry asked desperately.

"There's nothing there, Harry." Hermione said again, now sounding slightly worried. "Let's just go. We're holding up the other carriages."

"But I don't have Pig yet!" Ron protested. Just then, Luna appeared from nowhere with the owl in her grasp.

"Here you go, Ron. He's a cute little owl, isn't he?" She handed the cage with the overexcited owl to Ron before turning to Harry. "Don't worry, I can see them too. You're just as sane as I am." She climbed into the carriage without a backward glance. Harry now looked more worried than before. When Luna was the only other person who agreed with you on something, you should worry.

"Don't worry. I can see them too," Kevin told Harry. They're called Thestrals. Normally they live in forests and caves away from humans, but someone managed to tame this group."

"Why are they here now? The carriages always pull themselves." Harry asked.

"Have you seen anyone die recently?" Kevin asked, his voice suddenly much gentler than normal.

Harry nodded. "Last spring, during the Triwizard tournament."

"Thestrals can only be seen by those who have seen someone die before. They've probably always pulled the carriages, but you just haven't been able to see them before now," Kevin told him. Harry's face relaxed and he managed a small smile. "Thanks. I thought everyone's wish had been granted and I was finally going crazy. Come on, let's go." Harry began to climb into the carriage before a sudden thought occurred to him. "Wait, if you can see them, who did you see die?" he asked.

"Ask me again sometime. It's not something I like to talk about." Kevin said in a tone that clearly meant the conversation was over. With a shrug, Harry climbed into the dark confines of the carriage and Kevin followed. With a jerk, the carriage took off after the others, following the road out of Hogsmeade and up to Hogwarts.


	2. Chapter 2 Hogwarts

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or profit in any way from this work. All aspects of the Harry Potter universe belong to J.K. Rowling and affiliated groups. Kevin and other characters from America are my own. Please ask permission before copying and/or using ideas from the story. Thanks for reading, Phoenixrangers.**

**Chapter 2: Hogwarts**

The carriage creaked and groaned as it rolled up the road to Hogwarts. Kevin sat quietly in one of the corners, intently watching the window for his first glimpse of the famous school. The road passed through a large wrought iron gate flanked by winged boars before Hogwarts came into view. Kevin leaned forward to get a better view.

The castle was as magnificent as he had expected. Perched on top of a hill, the numerous turrets and towers stretched skyward. Every window blazed with light like a jewel in the night. Huge stained glass windows took up an entire wall of what Kevin recognized as the Great Hall. The castle was much older than Salem, and full of secrets that he was determined to discover before the end of the year.

Harry was staring out at the dark grounds instead of watching the castle. "Hagrid's cabins dark. Where do you think he is?" He asked.

"Dunno. He's probably not back from the mission he went on over the summer," Ron said.

"Ron!" Hermione hissed, with a pointed glance at Kevin and Luna. Apparently it wasn't common knowledge that Hagrid was on a mission. The carriages jolted to a halt in front of two massive wooden doors before Ron could reply. Everyone climbed out of the carriage and ascended the stone stairs. Inside, an enormous entryway stretched out before them. A marble staircase led to the upper floors. Light and the sound of a great many voices spilled from a set of open doors to the right. A stern looking woman stood next to the doorway wearing dress robes and a tall pointed hat over graying hair pulled back tightly into a bun. When she saw Kevin, she walked over to him.

"Mr. Kohana, I am professor McGonagall, the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts. If you would please follow me, I would like to speak with you before the sorting." Kevin followed her up the marble staircase after setting his covered cage next to the collection of owl and cat carriers next to the hall.

After three staircases and too many turns to remember, they stopped outside a door. McGonagall opened the door and ushered Kevin into her office. "Mr. Kohana, professor Vector and I have agreed to your request for independent study in transfiguration and arithmancy. The work you sent us is impressive, and well beyond what is normally taught to students here at Hogwarts. Your other class requests have also been granted. You will receive your schedule tomorrow morning at breakfast from your head of house, whoever that may be."

"Thank you, professor. I know how much time you are giving up for these advanced lessons.

"Nonsense. It's not very often anyone has skills beyond the regular classes. It will be a nice change of pace to work on high level transfiguration after teaching the same thing every year. We should get down to the Great Hall for the sorting."

"Yes, professor." Kevin told her. He followed professor McGonagall back down to the great hall. The doors were closed, but Professor McGonagall gently eased one open. At the opposite end of the hall the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, was speaking to the rest of the school.

"This year we have an additional student to be sorted. An exchange student from the Salem School of Sorcery will remain with us for the year. I ask all of you to welcome him to the castle and make him feel at home in whichever house he is sorted into. Mr. Kohana, please come in." With a start, Kevin realized that the doors had now opened and every head in the hall had turned to watch him. Careful to avoid eye contact with anyone, he walked up to the staff table between the rows of curious students. Many of those who had seen him on the train were now having whispered conversations with their neighbors.

Kevin stood nervously in front of the entire school while Dumbledore continued. He had never been fond of crowds and hated being the center of attention. "Mr. Kohana will be in fifth year, so I ask all of his fellow classmates to help him find his way around the castle. Now then, let us get on with the sorting."

Professor McGonagall entered the Great Hall leading a long line of terrified looking first years. To his relief, the center of attention now rested on the dirty, patched hat sitting on a stool before the entire hall. After a moment the brim of the hat opened wide and broke into a song.

The message the hat conveyed seemed disturbing. It spoke of dark forces gathering and coming betrayal from friends. To combat the darkness friends must trust each other and, all four houses of Hogwarts to stand united against the coming threat. An uneasy silence fell over the Great Hall when the hat finished the song and became inert again. McGonagall broke the silence by stepping forward and reading off of a long list.

"Kohana, Kevin." She called.

Kevin slowly walked over to the stool. He took a seat and placed the hat on his head.

"Well, what do we have here? Not the usual first year, I see." A voice spoke into Kevin's ear. It took him a few seconds to realize that it was the hat talking. "You have brains, and the sense of when to use them. You would do very well in Ravenclaw. There is also quite a bit of cunning, good for Slytherin. Not much to fit in with Hufflepuff, but… OH! What is this? Yes, yes, only one place for you now. You should be in GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted the last word for the entire hall to hear, and the table closest to the right hand wall exploded into cheers. Professor McGonagall pulled the hat off of his head and motioned home toward the table. Kevin quickly walked over to the still cheering table. He slid into an empty seat next to Hermione Granger as Professor McGonagall called out

"Anderson, William." The small boy stumbled up to the stool and was almost immediately sent to Hufflepuff.

"I can't believe you're in Gryffindor. Which house did the hat want you to be in? When I was sorted it wanted to put me in Ravenclaw at first, but decided on Gryffindor."

"The hat considered putting me in Slytherin or Ravenclaw before choosing Gryffindor.

"Slytherin!" two identical redheads chorused. "Who wants to be in Slytherin?" the first said.

"I definitely wouldn't," the second replied.

"As a Gryffindor you must always treat the Slytherins like the slimy gits they are," The first said.

"You wouldn't happen to be hiding something from us?" the second asked.

"Because if you are," the first began.

"We might just have to take offence," the second finished. Confused by the continuous switching of speakers, Kevin couldn't answer right away. He pretended to watch Matthew Everton being sorted into Slytherin to give himself time to think.

"I do have some things I would prefer to keep to myself," Kevin told them. "As for Slytherin, the hat thought I was cunning enough. As you can see, the hat decided that Gryffindor suited me better."

"A cunning Gryffindor? What do you think, Fred?" the first asked. "Could this be just the person we've been looking for?"

"I do believe you may be right, George." Fred replied. "How would you feel about causing a little trouble now and then? This is our last year at Hogwarts, and we feel it is our duty to train the next generation of Hogwarts troublemakers before we depart."

"Little Ronnikins here is already a lost cause since he went and became a prefect." George added.

"I don't think I can help you. I'm only here for one year before I go back to America." Kevin told them.

"That's a shame," Fred said. "Anyway, welcome to Hogwarts."

"And welcome to Gryffindor. Make us proud." George finished.

Everyone at the table applauded when Evelyn Gabon became the second new Gryffindor. There was little talk as the sorting continued. The line slowly shrank as each first year was called up to the stool to be sorted. Finally McGonagall called out "Wilson, Caleb." The Gryffindor table cheered soon after as the boy joined their table. All told, twelve new students had joined Gryffindor, eleven first years and Kevin. In comparison, Slytherin only received four new students while Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were somewhere in between.

Dumbledore stood up to address the school after the hat and stool was carried off by Professor McGonagall. "Welcome back for another year of learning. Before the feast begins, I have a few announcements to make. Professor Grubbly Plank will be substituting for Professor Hagrid in Care of Magical Creatures. I would also like to introduce Professor Umbridge, who will be taking over the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts." Kevin had to fight to keep from laughing when he looked at Umbridge. The woman looked like a toad, short and squat with curly brown hair. The pink bow on top of her head even resembled a fly.

Umbridge received little applause, but that did not seem to bother her. She smiled sweetly at the assembled students as Dumbledore continued. "Now that the new staff has been introduced, the remainder of the announcements may wait until after the feast. Tuck in!" At his words the tables filled with a large assortment of deliciously fragrant food. Kevin piled his plate with steak, mashed potatoes, and fried chicken. He contemplated the steak and kidney pie for a moment before deciding to stick with food he was familiar with.

The hall was full of conversation as the feast went on. Friends shared the tales of their summers. New acquisitions were shown off. Kevin was immediately mobbed by the other fifth year Gryffindors. All of them wanted to know more about him and his time in America. For the second time that day, Kevin found himself talking about life in America. In return, he was introduced to the rest of the fifth years in Gryffindor. Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan were the other two fifth year boys, who he would be sharing a dorm with for the year. Besides Hermione, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil were the other fifth year girls. They both seemed more interested Kevin's past girlfriends than anything else. They were severely disappointed when informed that he had never had a girlfriend before.

"You shouldn't have told them that," Harry muttered to Kevin. "Now they'll make it their goal to set you up by the end of the year." Kevin groaned quietly before returning to his food. With all of the talking he hadn't gotten to eat much. Soon the main course vanished from the golden plates and was replaced with a selection of decadent desserts. Ron claimed an entire chocolate fudge cake to himself while Harry convinced Kevin to try his favorite treacle tart.

"What classes are you taking?" Hermione asked Kevin.

"I'm taking Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, Potions, charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, and Arithmancy. I've already spoken to Professor McGonagall and Professor Vector, but I haven't met any of the others yet."

"Oh, you're taking arithmancy too. I think it's fascinating subject. These two here thought it would be too easy and took divination instead." Hermione told him.

"Unless you actually have the ability to be a seer, divination is completely useless. Most people I know who take it just make everything up." Kevin said.

"Harry and Ron do the same thing." Hermione said, laughing.

"Hey! Our predictions are a work of art!" Ron protested.

"How can near death predictions be works of art?" Hermione asked. This time Kevin couldn't help but laugh along. Ron looked offended when Harry joined in. He stuffed an enormous piece of cake into his mouth to avoid answering.

"Anyway the professors are all up at the staff table. Professor Hagrid usually teaches Care of Magical Creatures, but he's not here so Professor Grubbly Plank is taking his place. Potions is taught by Professor Snape on the end." Hermione explained, pointing to an unpleasant looking greasy haired man with a beaklike nose. "He's the head of Slytherin house and biased against all other students. Next to him is professor Sprout, who teaches herbology. Then there is Professor McGonagall, Professor Dumbledore, and Professor Vector. Professors McGonagall and Vector will work you hard, but are usually fair. Just don't make any trouble in their classes and they will do fine. You'll know as much about Professor Umbridge as the rest of us." Hermione finished.

"Hey Ron, save some cake for the rest of us." Fred called from his seat as Ron started on the last piece of cake. Without even looking up, Ron swallowed the final piece in three gulps. He smiled for a moment at his accomplishment before he began choking. Harry pounded him on the back until he was able to breathe again.

"That was not funny;" he croaked to Fred.

"Honestly, Ron. The food isn't going to run away from you. Slow down and you wouldn't choke on everything." Hermione scolded. Everyone laughed again as Ron turned as red as a lobster. The last remnants of food faded from the golden plates as Dumbledore stood up again and called for silence from the students.

"Now that you have all eaten your fill from our excellent feast, I have a few start of term notices. Mr. Filch has added Fanged Frisbees to the list of banned objects. Anyone wishing to view the full list may find it posted on Mr. Filch's office door. The dark forest is out of bounds, as some of our older students should remember." At this Harry, Ron, and Hermione all smiled and glanced at each other. "Also, quidditch trials will be held." Dumbledore broke off in mid speech. It took Kevin several moments to identify the cause. Professor Umbridge was standing, which still made her shorter than most of the seated professors. This was obviously not normal as the entire hall broke out in a storm of whispers.

"Hem, hem." She cleared her throat with a little cough. "Thank you for the warm words of welcome. The minister, and myself, have become concerned about the education of the young witches and wizards at Hogwarts." She then proceeded to launch into a dull speech that soon had lost the interest of almost everyone in the great hall. Hermione chewed her lip nervously while watching the professor intently. Up at the staff table, every other professor listened to Umbridge's speech with undivided attention. Some of their faces showed disapproval, some showed anger, and in Snape's case, the desire to turn Umbridge into the toad she resembled.

Umbridge finished her speech and sat down, while the majority of the students continued to stare off into space. Dumbledore stood up again and continued to address the school, but many of the students were too busy whispering to each other to pay attention.

"What do you think, Harry? I bet all her classes are boring if she lectures like that. She just wasted five whole minutes on nothing." Ron told Harry.

"There was some important information in that speech, Ron." Hermione hissed.

"What information? The whole thing sounded like a load of waffle to me."

"The ministry's not happy with Dumbledore, and they are planning on interfering at Hogwarts." Hermione told them.

"Doesn't the ministry usually get involved in magical schools? They do all kinds of things in the magical schools in America." Kevin asked, confused.

"No, the ministry and Hogwarts are usually run separately with little interaction between the two. Since Hogwarts was built before the ministry was established, it always operated independently. The headmaster of Hogwarts and the minister of magic are viewed as the two most powerful and influential people in wizarding England." Hermione said.

"Where did you learn that?" Ron asked her, flabbergasted.

"Hogwarts, A History. Honestly Ron, you really should read it sometime. It gives the complete history of the castle and all of the headmasters." Hermione told him before turning back to Kevin. "What kinds of things does the American Ministry of Magic do at the school?" She asked Kevin.

"First, it's the Department of Magic, not the Ministry. The head of magical America is the Secretary of Magic, who is kind of like your Minister of Magic, but not quite as powerful. Each district sends one representative to the American Wizarding Court, which has equal power to the Secretary of Magic. The Wizarding Court votes on all laws and other important matters. With enough votes, the court can even overrule the Secretary of Magic."

"What are districts? It sounds like the country is divided, but why would anyone want to do that?" Ron asked.

"The country is divided. America is a lot bigger than England, and we have almost a hundred times the number of Witches and Wizards as most of the countries in Europe. I think there are around eighty thousand total in the US," Kevin told the stunned Gryffindors. Even Hermione reacted like she had never heard of this before. "The districts make it easier to manage the government and make sure everyone is represented."

"As for the schools, the Department of Magic runs a standardized core curriculum all over the country, and then each school offers different optional classes and areas of study. The Voodoo Academy in Louisiana specializes in enchanting and divination. The California institute of wizardry mainly focuses on potions, magical creatures, and magical plants. Salem is the largest and oldest school in the country, and has the most options. It is also a lot larger than Hogwarts. There are nearly four hundred students there in my year alone. We also go to school longer. In America, wizarding school starts at the age of nine, where everyone learns the laws and customs of the magical world. They also learn the same things that muggles do in elementary school. At eleven, we obtain our wands and learn magic until we are eighteen, which is the adult age in America. We do get the ability to use magic outside school and our homes at the age of sixteen, which is also when we can obtain our apparition license."

"Wicked!" Ron said. "I wish I could get my apparition license that early. I would really hate to go to school for an extra year, though."

"After we graduate, most get a job, but there are two wizarding universities that offer more schooling after high school. I plan to attend the Moorcraft Military Academy after graduating. I want to join the magical division of the army like my mother. At Salem, they have Auror's rotate through as instructors, and teach an advanced dueling class for those who want to join the military. I started taking the class two years ago, and I like it a lot."

"You take dueling classes from Aurors at your school?" Harry asked in amazement.

"Yes, I do. I can't wait for that kid on the train, Malfoy, I think, to pick a fight." Kevin said with a grin.

"Dueling isn't allowed. You can get in trouble for attacking him!" Hermione scolded. "As prefects, Ron and I will have to report you to a professor."

"I'll only retaliate if he tries something first," Kevin reassured Hermione. The conversation ended with the scraping of benches as the entire hall rose to their feet. The Gryffindor fifth years rose as well.

"Ron, we have to show the first years how to get to the tower. Come on!" Hermione pulled him away into the crowd, calling for the first years. Kevin and Harry were left alone at the table.

"Can you show me the way to the tower, or do I have to follow them with the rest of the first years? Kevin asked Harry.

"I'll show you. This way." Harry led Kevin through the crowd and up the magnificent marble staircase. The walls were lined with moving portraits of witches and wizards, all watching the new students with interest. Harry pulled back a tapestry to reveal a concealed staircase and started climbing. "There are secret passages all over the school. This one will take us up to the fifth floor. Gryffindor tower is up on the seventh floor. The normal route down the grand staircase is a lot longer than taking this shortcut."

"Thanks. I just hope I can remember it. Salem is larger than Hogwarts, but the layout is simple. I'll have to rely on you and the others to get to my classes for the first few days as well." Kevin told Harry as he followed him through a maze of hallways and up another flight of stairs. "Where are the dormitories for the other houses? I didn't see the Hufflepuffs or Slytherins coming upstairs."

"The Slytherin common room is down in the dungeons, and the Hufflepuff common room is by the kitchens, one floor down from the great hall. The Ravenclaws are in another tower on the other side of the castle. Each dormitory is hidden and requires a password to enter," Harry told him.

"How are the Gryffindor dormitories hidden?" Kevin asked.

"Right behind the portrait." Harry stopped in front of a life sized painting of a large woman wearing a frilly pink dress.

"Password?" she asked.

"Uh…" Harry looked lost, and Kevin could only shrug.

"I didn't even know you needed a password." He protested.

"Hey, Harry, Kevin! I know the password, and I'll actually be able to remember it this time." Neville had come running up behind them, waving his little gray cactus in the air. "Mimbulus Mimbletonia," he said. The portrait swung open on invisible hinges to reveal a large circular room covered in red and gold. Comfortable looking chairs rested before a blazing fire, and two dozen circular tables were scattered the room. Large windows granted an impressive view of the grounds. A large hut stood near the edge of the dark, forbidding forest. Two stone staircases curved upward at the back of the room.

"This is the Gryffindor Common Room." Harry told Kevin. "The boys' dorms are up the left hand staircase, and the girls are on the right. Our things have already been brought up to the dormitory." Kevin followed Harry up the circular staircase until they reached a wooden door labeled 'Fifth Years.' Harry pushed the door open and entered. Inside, six four poster beds with red hangings were arranged in a circle around the room. Kevin's worn trunk stood at the foot of the bed right beside the window. A full moon illuminated the grounds with silvery light, and beams shone through the window to cast dark shadows on the far wall.

Kevin nodded to the other two and crossed to his trunk. He pulled out a clean pair of pajamas and found the bathroom to change. When he emerged, the others had arrived. Neville was watering his small gray Mimbulus Mimbletonia on a bedside table while Seamus stacked odd articles of clothing into drawers.

"Hey, you're a soccer fan?" Kevin exclaimed after seeing the posters Dean had plastered to the wall above his bed.

"What?" Dean said.

"Sorry. You're a football fan," Kevin corrected. "I didn't think many wizards were interested in the sport."

"I'm muggle born, so I was a football fan before I even knew what quidditch was. I'm a West Ham fan. I even got to see a game over the summer." Dean told him. "My summer was pretty good, unlike Seamus's here."

"Why? What happened?" Harry asked.

"Me mam didn't want me to come back this year." The sandy haired Irishman had stopped stacking his clothing in drawers, but he still faced the wall as he spoke. "She didn't want me to come back… because of you." He finished.

"Why would she do that? I've met your mother before," Harry said, disbelievingly.

"She didn't want me mixed up in all of the lies you and Dumbledore are spouting. I don't think you deserve to be here, you attention seeking prat!" Seamus growled.

"Your way out of line, Finnigan!" Ron shouted at him.

"You believe his lies then? You believe the mad thing Potter has said?"

"Yeah, I do. Unfortunately for you, I'm also a prefect. Shut up and go to bed unless you want a detention. Seamus opened his mouth, like he was going to say something else, but seemed to decide against it and closed his mouth with an angry snap. The dormitory descended into an uneasy silence. Kevin watched the emotions play out on the faces of the other Gryffindors. Ron was fuming with a beet red face. Neville looked slightly scared and kept glancing between Seamus and Harry and Ron, as though waiting for a fight to erupt. Dean looked embarrassed and just shrugged at the way Seamus was acting, and Harry, Harry just stood at the end of his bed, watching Seamus angrily finish unpacking in disbelief. Harry seemed to have a mask of indifference, but his narrowed eyed betrayed the effect Seamus's words had.

Kevin quietly answered a few of Dean's questions about his life and schooling in America, but no one else spoke. Kevin left his curtains open and watched the shifting shadows of moonlight dance across the stone ceiling above him. Kevin didn't know yet, but the utter lack of noise in the room betrayed the fact that Ron and Neville were both lying awake as well; both were notorious for loud, obnoxious snoring.


	3. Chapter 3 Professor Umbridge

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or profit in any way from this work. All aspects of the Harry Potter universe belong to J.K. Rowling and affiliated groups. Kevin and other characters from America are my own. Please ask permission before copying and/or using them. Thanks for reading, Phoenixrangers.**

**Chapter 3 Professor Umbridge**

Kevin rose in the dark predawn the next morning. The curtains were closed on Harry, Neville, Dean, and Seamus's beds. Ron was sprawled out on his bed in an old faded Chudley Cannon's jersey, legs hanging over the edge of the bed. How could anyone sleep in this racket? Kevin wondered. He had no idea how he had managed to sleep through the thunderous snoring coming from Ron and Neville. Well, the others have been sharing the same dorm for four years, so they had to be used to the noise, he thought.

After changing into black tee shirt and a pair of sweats, Kevin followed the circular stone staircase down to the deserted common room. Not trusting his memory to reach the entrance hall without getting lost, Kevin stayed in the common room to exercise. After warming up and a quick set one hundred of pushups, he transfigured one of the couches into a set of weights. Pale sunlight lit up the room an hour later as a very sweaty Kevin finished with fifty more push ups. Once the weights were returned to their original form, Kevin returned to his room to shower and prepare for the day.

Dean was just getting out of bed when Kevin emerged from the bathroom, freshly showered and dressed in his brand new black uniform robes. Dean glanced at the clock on his bedside table, which showed six-thirty, before asking "Why are you up so early? Breakfast doesn't start until seven and classes begin at eight.

"I was just working out a bit."

"Working out? Like pushups?" Dean asked in disbelief.

"That, and weight lifting, sit ups, pull ups, and I'll start running as soon as I can get down to the entrance hall and back without getting lost," Kevin told him.

"You get up early to run? You Americans really are crazy." Dean shook his head as he shuffled into the bathroom, closing the door behind him with a snap. Kevin sat on his bed, the red and gold covers perfectly made, and began sorting through his textbooks. Since he didn't know which classes he would have, he added them all to his camouflage backpack. _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Five_, went in along with _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them, One thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, _and_ Intermediate Potion Making._ He hesitated slightly before adding _Defensive Magical Theory_. The book was very boring and had little in the way of useful knowledge. The author, Wilbert Slinkhard, seemed to focus on the theory of when to use defensive magic and devoted little attention to actually performing the spells. He just hoped that Professor Umbridge made up for the lack of casting instructions in class.

Once all of the standard textbooks were in his bag, he sorted through his remaining volumes. His additional Defense books included _Jinxes for the Jinxed, Tricks for Tracking,_ a massive leather tome entitled _A Comprehensive Guide to Countercurses, _and an old, battered copy of _The Auror Handbook: American Edition (1972)._ He also had _Advanced Conjuring, Animating the Inanimate, The Master Arithmancy guide, Warding: Do's and Don'ts, The Rune Bestiary, Eternity Enchanting, Great Magics of the Ancients, _and_ Hogwarts, A History_. Most of the additional books were for the Transfiguration and Arithmancy projects he would be working on throughout the year.

A black leather bound journal and his cloak went into the bag next, followed by a pair of dragon hide gloves and his potions equipment. He really loved the undetectable expansion charm placed on his bag. If he had wanted, he could stuff his entire trunk into it. Kevin closed his trunk and tapped the lid three times with his wand to lock it. A faint red glow surrounded the trunk for a moment before fading. Now ready for the day, he flipped _Hogwarts, A History_ open to chapter four: The Four Founders, and began reading. He was half way through chapter five by the time Seamus and Dean were ready. Seamus left the room as quickly as he could to avoid talking to Harry.

Harry waved Kevin on, "Go ahead and follow them to breakfast. I'm going to wait for Ron to finish."

"Alright." Kevin ran down the winding stone staircase to catch up with Dean and Seamus in the common room. "Hey, Dean, Seamus, do you mind showing me the way down to the Great Hall?" Kevin asked them.

"Not a problem," Dean replied. Seamus didn't say anything as Kevin followed them out of the portrait hole. After two hallways and a staircase hidden behind a tapestry Seamus finally broke the uncomfortable silence. "Do you believe everything Harry and Dumbledore have been saying?" He asked Kevin.

After meeting Harry and talking to him, Kevin believed the other boy's story, but thought a more diplomatic approach would be best with Seamus. "I'm not sure. I've only been in the country for a few days and don't know that much about it. We don't get much British news in America."

"Harry keeps insisting that You-Know-Who has returned, despite the lack of proof. He says that Cedric was killed by You-Know-Who, and that he dueled him and survived. As If. You-Know-Who would have killed him in seconds if he was really there. Don't get dragged into trouble with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. If they don't stop lying soon, they'll get in real trouble." Seamus's rant took the three all the way to the Great Hall. The doors stood open and the tables were full of students. Many eyes followed Kevin as he took his place at the Gryffindor table next to Dean and across the table from Seamus. He hoped that interest in him would soon die down. He hated being the center of attention. He barely had time to place two fried eggs and some toast on his plate before being accosted by a pair of seventh year girls.

"You're the American student, Kevin, right?" The taller, dark skinned, athletic looking girl asked. Without waiting for a reply she continued. "I'm Angelina Johnson, the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. This is," She gestured to the blond girl at her side, "Alicia Spinnet. We're both chasers on the team. Our keeper graduated last year, and we were wondering if you would be interested in trying out for the position."

"Sorry, I'm not really interested. I like to fly, but I don't think I'll have time to play quidditch this year. I have a lot to do to get ready for OWLS at the end of the year. Besides," he added with a small smile and slightly flexed one arm, "I prefer playing beater anyway."

"Alright then, maybe next year. Our beaters will have graduated then." Without waiting to hear that he was only there for one year, she called out "Hey, Potter," and strode over to Harry, who had just entered the hall with Ron and Hermione.

"It seems like Angelina already had Wood fever," Dean said, laughing slightly.

"Wood Fever?" Kevin inquired.

"The last Gryffindor captain was Oliver Wood. He was a great keeper, he's even on the Puddlemere United Reserve Team now, but he was a little overenthusiastic." Dean told him.

"Yeah, I don't know how many times he came barging into our dormitory at the crack of dawn on the weekends to drag Harry out to practice," Seamus said, before realizing that he had spoken about Harry and resumed scowling.

"Harry's on the quidditch team? What position does he play?"

When Seamus refused to answer, Dean replied "He plays seeker. He got on the team the second week of term in first year, the youngest seeker in a century. He's a great player, too. The only game he ever lost was because dementors came onto the field and he fell off his broom."

"What's this about Harry falling off his broom?" Ron asked as he sat down on Kevin's other side.

"We were just telling Kevin about the only game Harry ever lost in quidditch," Dean replied.

"That wasn't my fault. Dementors have always caused me to pass out and a swarm of them came onto the pitch that day," Harry said as he sat down across from Ron. Without saying a word, Seamus picked up his plate and moved down the table to sit beside Parvati and Lavender.

"Just ignore him, Harry." Hermione pleaded. "He'll come around eventually. Oh, look, here's the schedules."

Professor McGonagall was making her way down the Gryffindor table, handing out schedules. When she reached Kevin she leaned down and muttered, "You have the Transfiguration and Arithmancy periods free. You can use the time to work on your projects," too quietly for anyone else to hear.

"Look at this!" Ron exclaimed, "History of Magic, Double Potions, Divination, and double Defense Against the Dark Arts. This has to be the worst schedule I've ever seen."

"Yeah, we have classes with Binns, Snape, Trelawney, and that Umbridge woman all in one day." Harry said. "Do you have Arithmancy instead of Divination, Hermione?" he asked her.

"Yes. My schedule should be the same as yours, Kevin. I can show you how to get to all of the classes today. We should get going soon we'll be late."

"Actually," Kevin began with a bit of uncertainty, "I don't have History of Magic. We only need to take three years of magical history at Salem, and Astronomy is a completely optional course. I have a free period now, and I'm sure I can find someone to give me directions to the Potions lab later."

"You seriously don't have to take History of Magic?" Ron Exclaimed. "I wish I was that lucky. The teacher, Professor Binns, is a ghost and is the most boring teacher in existence."

"Just make sure you're not late to potions. Professor Snape will hate you on principle because you're a Gryffindor." Harry called while Hermione dragged him and Ron away from the table.

'That girl needs to straighten out her priorities. School isn't everything.' Kevin thought. Without any distractions, Kevin leisurely finished his breakfast as the Great Hall rapidly emptied. Only a few students remained, mainly sixth and seventh years who also had a free period and no homework. Without anything better to do, Kevin left the Great Hall and began to explore the castle. The ancient building was huge, and the maze of passages made it very easy to get lost. The moving stone staircases were even worse, ensuring that you couldn't just backtrack if you became lost. Kevin eventually found the entrance to Gryffindor Tower on the seventh floor, even though he was sure he was on the fourth floor. Checking his watch, he realized that it was only twenty minutes until potions started. Given how hard it was to get anywhere in the school, he found the nearest staircase and headed down.

Fifteen minutes later, after asking directions from a Hufflepuff prefect and a Ravenclaw fourth year, Kevin found himself waiting outside the potions classroom in the dungeons. The air down here was cold and musty. Kevin stood in line with the other Gryffindors. The Slytherins were lined up against the opposite wall, and many of the green-clad students were glaring at Kevin. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle especially looked like they wanted nothing more than to curse him. Harry and Ron stared right back at the Slytherins, their hands clenched around their wands in their pockets. No one spoke, but the tension continued to build in the cramped passage. They were so intent on glaring at each other that the entire jumped when Snape threw open the door to the potions classroom. The class silently filed in and took their seats with two people at a table. Unfortunately, Kevin made the ninth Gryffindor, and after everyone took their usual seats the only empty space left was next to a tall, dark haired Slytherin boy.

"Today, we will be testing what you remember from last year. You will be brewing the Draught of peace. The ingredients are in the cupboard and the instructions are on the blackboard." With a flick of his wand the designated cupboard door flew open and the instructions appeared written on the board.

"What kind of instructions are those?" Kevin asked the Slytherin next to him.

"Shut up." The kid hissed at him, but it was already too late.

Snape quickly swept over to the table. Most of the class stopped working to watch, the Gryffindors looking worried and the Slytherins wearing predatory grins. "What seems to be the problem here, Mr. Zabini?"

"Nothing, sir. I was just setting up my equipment."

"And you, Mr. Kohana? Do you have a problem or is the standard of education in American so poor that you don't know how to set up a cauldron?" Snape asked, loudly enough for the entire class to hear. Several of the Slytherins chuckled at this remark.

"I know what I'm doing. I've made this potion before, but I thought you might actually want to teach the class, not just give them a set of instructions to follow. Maybe you could start by explaining what the Draught of Peace does, and who commonly uses it." Kevin told the greasy haired professor, seemingly not bothered by the looming presence.

Complete silence reigned in the class. Hogwarts history had ever dared to criticize Snape to his face. Every student, Gryffindor and Slytherin alike, waited for the inevitable explosion from the potions master. Snape didn't speak at first; he just stared at Kevin, as if in disbelief that a Gryffindor would have the audacity to criticize the way he taught, even if this was his first class with him.

"Fifty points from Gryffindor, Mr. Kohana. While at Hogwarts, you will show respect to your teachers. If it happens again you will receive detention for a month. Professor Dumbledore asked that the staff show restraint for the first few days in your case." Snape looked around at the class, who were all watching the discussion. "What are you all doing? Get back to work!" he snapped. The silence turned into organized chaos as the entire class rushed to finish setting up their equipment.

Half an hour later the room was full of multicolored wisps of steam from the numerous cauldrons. Kevin finished his counterclockwise stirring and stood back to let the potion simmer for seven minutes. At this point most of the class was just waiting for their potion to finish simmering before moving onto the fourth line of instructions. "Hang on," Kevin said, reaching out to stop Zabini from adding two newt eyes to his potion.

"Get your hands off me," Zabini hissed, wrenching his arm out of Kevin's grip. "What are you doing?"

"You almost forgot the syrup of Hellebore. You have to add three drops after the potion simmers for seven minutes." Zabini looked up at the board and realized his mistake.

"Oh, thanks, I guess." He then added the syrup of hellebore before the newt eyes. Harry, who was at the next table, overheard their discussion and narrowly prevented himself from making the same mistake as Zabini. When the class ended Kevin and the others filled a vial with a sample of their potion and delivered it to Snape's desk. Only Harry, Hermione, Zabini, and he had managed to end with the desired silver vapor over the potion. Some of the others ranged from Seamus's red and orange sparks to Goyle's jellylike concoction that kept climbing up the sides of his cauldron.

"Hey, Kohana," Zabini called as the class exited the dungeon. "Um, thanks for the help with the potion."

"Don't mention it," Kevin told him. "I've made that potion twice before. I forgot the hellebore the first time I made it too. Almost every potion book puts that instruction right after the seven minutes of simmering at the end of a line, and a lot of people end up forgetting to add it."

"You know, you're not as bad as Draco said. According to him you wouldn't hesitate to curse the first person to introduce themselves to you."

Kevin just shook his head. "I only threatened him after he insulted everyone in the compartment, including myself, and then refused to leave."

"Draco never was the most intelligent. He believes that everyone else should follow his orders just because he's a Malfoy. Even most of the other Slytherins avoid him in the common room."

"Hey, Kevin, hurry up or we'll miss lunch." Ron called from the doorway where he waited with Harry and Hermione.

"I better go before they leave. I doubt I'll be able to find the Great Hall on my own yet. See you Wednesday." Kevin joined the other three and followed them out of the dungeons.

"What did the snake want?" Ron asked angrily. Was he trying to use your potion as his own?"

"No. He was just thanking me for the help with his potion. He would have forgotten to add the syrup of hellebore if I hadn't reminded him."

"Yeah, I almost made the same mistake," Harry confided. "I only added it because I overheard you talking to Zabini."

"You shouldn't be giving help to any Slytherins. Let them do their own work. None of them will ever offer any help back. Gryffindors and Slytherins don't get along for a reason." Ron exclaimed.

"He didn't seem that bad to me. I prefer to actually meet people before deciding if I like them or not. I don't think you should judge everyone based on what house they are sorted into," Kevin told them as the four sat down at the Gryffindor table. "You shouldn't automatically classify a quarter of the school as enemies just because they wear green and silver and have a snake as an emblem."

"I don't really know that much about him. We've only spoken a few times. I do know his name is Blaise Zabini and that his mother is a famous actress. They're a pureblood family, but don't have the money that the Malfoy's do," Hermione said.

"Will you just stop talking about the Slytherins for a while?" Ron asked between bites of beef stew. "We'll see them later in Defense class." The thread of the conversation died as everyone concentrated on their food. A few minutes later Fred and George sat down and began discussing OWL's with Hermione. The two even tried to sell Ron a trick sweet called a Nosebleed Nougat to avoid class, but he refused after learning there was no antidote to stop the bleeding yet.

At the end of lunch, Kevin approached the head table to speak to Professor Vector. Hermione had wanted get to class early, but Kevin had managed to convince her to leave without him. All Kevin did was confirm the time of the first meeting that evening and he received directions to the professor's office of the fifth floor. Kevin did not want others to know that he was not taking the normal Arithmancy and Transfiguration classes yet. In the United States, he was always swarmed by people asking for help in those two subjects, many of them people he had never met before. He wanted to avoid that occurring at Hogwarts, if possible.

Kevin spent the next hour wandering the castle again. He found the library, hospital wing, and another dozen secret passages, one of which proved to be a shortcut from the seventh floor to the fifth floor that came out right next to Professor Vector's office. After retracing his path to the library he searched through the Arithmancy and history sections.

"Can I help you find something?" the librarian asked from right behind Kevin, making him jump.

"No, I'm just browsing, uh, Madame Pince," he answered hesitantly, almost forgetting the name of the strict Hogwarts librarian.

"Oh, you're the new American student. Just make sure that all books are returned to their proper places before you leave. And no magic in the library!" She snapped before she strode away to terrorize a group of third year Hufflepuffs fighting over a book on the care of Krups.

He found the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom with the help of the Fat Friar, the Hufflepuff house ghost. Class was still in session, so he pulled out _Defensive Magical Theory_ and began skimming chapter one: Basics for Beginners. The bell rang a few minutes later and the class of sixth years spilled out into the hallway, many of them looking relieved to escape the class. Once the doorway cleared, Kevin entered the room and took a seat in the back row.

The rest of the class trickled in over the next ten minutes and took their seats. Malfoy came in followed by Crabbe, Goyle, and a pug-faced girl. He made straight for the back row until he noticed Kevin was sitting there. He immediately veered right and took a seat in the second row. The other Slytherins silently followed his lead. Kevin smiled and silently congratulated himself. He must have really scared Malfoy on the train.

"What are you smiling about?" Ron asked as he took a seat next to Kevin.

"Oh, just Malfoy. He wanted to sit in the back of the class until he saw me sitting here. No he's near the front," Kevin responded. Both Harry and Ron's faces broke into smiles as well.

"Where were you in during Arithmancy? You should have just been able to follow Professor Vector to the class if you couldn't find it." Hermione scolded as she sat down as well. "You shouldn't be skipping classes, especially since it's your first day."

Thinking fast, Kevin came up with an excuse that he hoped would satisfy her, at least for a few days. "Professor McGonagall wanted to go over a few things. By the time we finished, class had already started and I wasn't sure where the classroom was. I wandered around for a while before finding the library, and class was almost over by then, so I just decided to stay there, since I had a free period. I'll go see Professor Vector later to explain why I wasn't in class today." Hermione looked like she wanted to continue, but Professor Umbridge closed the door with a wave of her wand. Hermione sat up straighter and watched the short Professor intently.

Despite the sickly sweet smile and high pitched simpering voice, there was no getting around the fact that Umbridge looked like a toad. She was short and squat, with a wide mouth and sagging eyes. She wore a bright, blindingly pink cardigan and a black bow was perched on top of her curly brown hair. Kevin had to stifle a laugh when he heard Harry mutter the bow looked like a fly to Ron.

"Good afternoon class." Professor Umbridge called to all of them. Only a few people gave half-hearted replies, while the rest remained silent. "Tut, tut, that will never do. I expect a reply when I greet you. Let's try again. Good afternoon class."

"Good afternoon Professor Umbridge," The class chanted, many looking angry at being treated like six year olds. Kevin suppressed a groan. This class was going to be horrible.

"Wands away and quills out," Umbridge called to the class. She gave her unusually short wand another flick, and words appeared on the blackboard beside her in spidery, girlish writing.

**Defense Against the Dark Arts**

**A Return to Basic Principles**

Course Aims:

Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic.

Learning to recognize situations in which defensive magic can legally be used.

Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use.

"Please copy down the course aims. When you are finished you may open _Defensive Magical Theory_ and read chapter one, Basics for Beginners. There will be no need to talk," Umbridge instructed the class. Everyone rummaged in their bags for pieces of parchment. Kevin pulled a muggle spiral bound notebook and a ballpoint pen out of his bag. He never liked writing with a quill. Pens were much faster, and there were no annoying ink blots when you were finished. Notebooks were much more manageable than long rolls of parchment. Quills and parchment were only used for formal documents in America. Even most of his professors there preferred to write using muggle pens.

Once the course aims were copied, Kevin opened _Defensive Magical Theory_ and flipped through the pages without much interest. He had already read the first chapter twice and had no intention of reading it again. The book was very dull and tedious. It was almost as if Professor Umbridge had purposefully picked out the most boring and useless book to use in class.

While glancing at his fellow classmates, Kevin noticed many of them were no longer concentrating on Basics for Beginners, and were instead watching Hermione attempt to gain Umbridge's attention. When over half of the class was watching Hermione, Umbridge decided to act.

"Did you have a question, about the reading, Miss?"

"Hermione Granger," Hermione finished for her. "I don't have a question about the reading, but about the course aims."

"I believe the course aims are perfectly clear if read carefully. Now, please return to reading," Umbridge simpered in a falsely sweet voice.

"There's nothing in the course aims about using defensive magic," Hermione said.

Umbridge gave a little laugh. "Using defensive spells? Now why would you need to do that in my classroom? We will be learning about magic in a safe, risk free environment."

"We're not going to use magic all year?" Ron demanded to know. Before Umbridge could answer, Parvati spoke up.

"Wait, isn't there a practical portion to our OWL's? Don't we have to show the examiners that we can actually perform the spells?"

"And you are?" Umbridge asked.

"Parvati Patil," Parvati answered.

"If you study the theory hard enough, there is no reason you can't perform well for the examinations, Miss Patil" Umbridge told them.

"You mean the first time we'll get to perform the spells is during our OWLs?" Dean shouted.

"Students will raise their hands when they wish to speak in my classroom, Mr…"

"Thomas, Dean Thomas," he told her.

"I repeat, you just have to study the theory hard enough."

"Prove it!" Kevin called out, surprising himself and those seated near him.

"Excuse me?" Umbridge asked, confusion and indignation flashing across her face.

"I said prove it. Prove that it's possible to cast spells perfectly the first time, just by studying the theory. The class can pick a spell that you don't know, give you the book, and we'll see if you can successfully perform the spell at the end of the lesson. It should be simple for you, a fully qualified witch." The class stared at him, then Umbridge, who appeared to be swelling with rage, her already bulging eyes looking ready to pop from her head.

"And you are?" She asked him, her sweet, girlish voice giving way to a rather brusque manner.

"Kevin Kohana."

"I don't know how you are taught to treat your superiors in America, Mr. Kohana, but here at Hogwarts children treat their elders with respect. I am a ministry qualified instructor and must be treated as such. Thirty points from Gryffindor and detention for the remainder of the week. See me after class, Mr. Kohana." Umbridge turned back to the rest of the class like nothing had happened, smile fixed firmly back on her face. "A team of the best educational experts at the ministry has worked all summer to create the most efficient and acceptable curriculum for this class. You, as schoolchildren, are not capable of choosing what is right. Now, please return to reading chapter one; Basics for Beginners."

"Why should we? What use is this going to be in the real world?" Harry demanded of Umbridge, ignoring Hermione's attempts to quiet him. "What will we do if we are attacked and don't know how to defend ourselves? Will we just throw this book at them?"

"This is school, Mr. Potter, and I can guarantee you will not be attacked in my classroom," Umbridge scolded. "There is nothing waiting out there to attack you. From what I have heard, you are more likely to be attacked by dangerous half breeds in this castle than for anyone to hurt you outside of school."

"If you're talking about Professor Lupin, he," Dean began before being cut off by Umbridge.

"Enough of this! There is nothing waiting to harm you, inside or outside of this castle. Now return to your reading."

"What about Voldemort!" Harry nearly shouted. "He murdered Cedric last year, just because he was there, and he won't hesitate to kill anyone in this classroom."

"Detention, Mr. Potter! See me after class as well." Umbridge had the ghost of a smile on her face as she gave Harry detention. "This discussion is over. Return to your reading!" she snapped.

"But!" Dean began.

"The next person to open their mouth will receive detention for a month!" Umbridge threatened. The class fell silent, the Gryffindors struggling to contain their anger while the Slytherins watched with undisguised glee. Malfoy turned in his seat to flash a smirk at Harry and Kevin. Both glared back, but restrained from retaliating to avoid any more detentions. When the class ended, there was a mad rush to get out the door. Excited whispers could be heard the moment everyone passed through the doorway. Hermione told Harry to control his temper before leaving as the two approached Umbridge's desk.

"Now then, both of you will have detention with me for the remainder of the week. You will report to my office at six o'clock tomorrow evening for the first one." She told them.

"Professor, I can't start my detention until eight, or I'll have to wait for the weekend," Kevin told her.

"And why not?" she demanded, looking affronted.

"I have meetings with professors McGonagall and Vector from six to eight in the evening this week and next to ensure I'm up to speed with their classes." He told her calmly. "Those classes are more important than a detention, and I won't miss them."

"We shall see about that," Umbridge said in a sharp voice. "Meetings or not, I will expect you at my office at six tonight for your first detention. Good day." Kevin opened his mouth to argue, but Harry grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the room.

"I doubt she'll change her mind. Go speak with McGonagall or Dumbledore. They should be able to do something about it. Anyway, let's get to dinner so we have a chance to eat tonight," Harry told him.

"You can go; I want to speak to Professor McGonagall before Umbridge does. I have a feeling she won't be telling the exact truth about why I have a detention. Could you give me directions to her office?"

"Okay," Harry replied hesitantly. After giving Kevin directions the two separated, Kevin ascending to the fifth floor and McGonagall's office while Harry made his way down to the Great Hall and dinner.

"What did Umbridge give you as punishment?" Ron asked as Harry sat down at the Gryffindor table.

"I have detention all week after dinner. So does Kevin, but he apparently has lessons with Professor Vector and McGonagall in the evenings for the first two weeks to ensure he is caught up to the Hogwarts classes. Umbridge didn't believe him and just thought that thought he was just lying to get out of detention. He went to find Professor McGonagall before Umbridge does.

"He missed Arithmancy earlier today. That doesn't sound like someone who is really worried about his school work," Hermione said. "If he had really wanted to find the class he could have asked a student or one of the ghosts."

"Come off it, Hermione," Ron told her. "The bloke just got lost and couldn't find the class. It's his first day. Remember how much trouble we had finding our way around the castle on the first week back in first year." Hermione still looked doubtful, but let the matter drop to the relief of Harry and Ron.

Halfway through dinner, Professors McGonagall and Umbridge entered the Great Hall arguing fiercely, although their voices were too low to identify the subject of the dispute. The majority of the students were watching the wild gesticulation from the two professors before they made id half way to the staff table.

"What do you think they're arguing about?" Ron asked the table in general. Everyone within earshot could only shrug, never taking their eyes from the two. With the entire hall's attention on the professors, no one noticed the late arrival to the Gryffindor table. Completely ignoring the argument, Kevin dished up some beef stew and began to eat. Fred was the first one to notice that he had joined the table.

"Kevin, what are you doing eating?" Fred asked. "You're missing the most entertaining argument I've seen during dinner in years. McGonagall and the toad are really going at it. The only thing that would make it better would be to know what they're arguing about."

"McGonagall believes that a week of detention and thirty points from Gryffindor is a bit extreme, especially since it's my first day in Hogwarts. That, and Umbridge doesn't seem to believe that I have meetings with Professors McGonagall and Vector after dinner for the first few weeks to make sure I'm caught up on the coursework. She seems to think that those are just plans for me to avoid detention."

"Wow, it's only your first day and you already have McGonagall angry enough to turn someone into a cat," George said in obvious awe. "That has to be some kind of record."

"Hey, she's not mad at me, so I can't take all of the credit, and I would prefer a tiger over a cat. They're much better at chasing away annoying redheads," Kevin said with a small smile. He may not have accepted the twins offer the night before, but he could still have some fun this year.

"Fred and George just laughed and watched as Dumbledore descended from the staff table. He spoke to the two for a moment, and both women nodded, though neither looked particularly happy. Umbridge took her place at the staff table while McGonagall came over to the Gryffindor table to speak to Kevin.

"Mr. Kohana, you will serve your detentions with Professor Umbridge in the evenings after your meetings with Professor Vector and myself. In the future I expect you to behave according to the Hogwarts policy, despite what you may be used to in America.

"Yes, Professor," Kevin told her. McGonagall took her seat at the staff table while Kevin silently finished his meal. After they had finished eating, Kevin followed the others up to Gryffindor tower. He stopped Harry when the portrait was in sight to talk for a few minutes.

"I'm sorry about Defense class. If I had kept my mouth shut she probably wouldn't have given you detention."

"Don't worry about it," Harry told him. You didn't make me yell at her anymore than I made you yell. I still think that you had a valid point, though. I would really like to see if she can perform a spell perfectly the first time just from studying the theory."

"I doubt she would be able to. She looks more like a toad than a witch," Kevin said.

"I thought the same thing. I guess I really shouldn't be surprised, though. Since my first year, we've only had two defense teachers who taught us anything, and one of them turned out to be an imposter. Most people believe that the Defense position is cursed, because we haven't had anyone last for more than a year in a long time. Anyway, this won't be the first time that I've had detention."

"What types of things do you normally have to do here for detention?" Kevin asked. "In America it can range from writing an essay to trimming the quidditch pitch with a pair of scissors."

"I don't think we have anything that bad. Each teacher here is different, but you want to avoid Snape if you can. He usually makes you prepare ingredients or clean cauldrons without protective gloves. Most people have to go visit the hospital wing after detentions with him. Most of the others just assign manual labor, though I had to help answer fan mail once in my second year for the defense professor."

"Fan mail?" Kevin couldn't help but ask, not sure if he had heard correctly.

"It's a long story. All I'll say is that we've had some pretty strange people as defense teachers because no one else wants to take the job anymore. Anyway, we probably should get started on our homework. I can't believe how much we have on the first day. The professors are really serious about the O.W.L's."

"You can, I have a meeting with Professor Vector in a few minutes. I'll see you later." Kevin left Harry at the portrait hole and made his way down to Vector's office, having gotten directions earlier from one of the seventh year prefects.

"Come in", Professor Vector called when Kevin knocked on her office door. He entered the small, but cozy office. A blazing fireplace provided warmth and light to the room which was covered with blackboards full of calculations and diagrams that would seem unintelligible to most. Kevin took the offered seat in front of the professor's desk while quickly surveying the walls. He had to smile when he easily recognized most of the work on the walls, having sent it to Hogwarts as proof of his skills when applying for the independent study courses. "Good evening Mr. Kohana. I can say it's excellent to have another Arithmancy expert to talk to. I've review the work that you sent over the summer. Your work was excellent and had no flaws that I was able to find. I do have to ask if your research subject is what you really wish to attempt. No one has had any success in three hundred years. It might not be possible."

"As far as I know, professor, no one has ever attempted to create something like this before. I can at least try, and if I fail, then I fail. We'll never know unless we try, right." Kevin pulled out a thick stack of parchment covered with numbers, diagrams, and strange symbols and handed it to Professor Vector. "I already worked out the basic structure and thought you might like to look at it. The basics are relatively simple to create. The hard part is going to be embedding the charm into the spell structure so it will cover the entire area while remaining strong enough to work. I was hoping you might have a few ideas on where to begin."

"Is it alright if I keep your notes to look at? I'll have to look at them first, but I'll try to come up with something by next week.

"That's fine, professor," Kevin told her. "Those are just copies anyways."

Did you bring the other projects that you have worked on like I requested?" Vector asked next. At Kevin's nod, she continued. "Let's go over them tonight, and I'll prepare a test to see what you might need to work on for Wednesday."

Kevin and Professor Vector spent the next two hours discussing his various projects from the last two years in America. Professor Vector was very impressed with his work, and event made several mental notes of things that she had never thought of before. She had been a little hesitant at first, but by the end of the evening she was beginning to wonder who would be learning more this year, Kevin or herself. At eight, Kevin reluctantly returned to Gryffindor tower, and only took one wrong turn on his way up to the portrait hole.


	4. Chapter 4 Partial Truths

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or profit in any way from this work. All aspects of the Harry Potter universe belong to J.K. Rowling and affiliated groups. Kevin and other characters from America are my own. Please ask permission before copying and/or using them. Thanks for reading, Phoenixrangers.**

**Partial Truths**

Kevin entered the Gryffindor Common room to find it in complete pandemonium. The floor was covered with papers, and most of the students were seeking shelter by standing on top of the tables and chairs. The cause of the commotion was two streaks of color, one a hissing blur of orange closely followed by a red flash. Hermione was yelling at the two fighting animals to stop, and long scratches along her arms bore testament to her failed attempts. The Weasley twins, on the other hand, were roaring with laughter as they watched.

Kevin groaned silently. The day just couldn't get any worse. First there was Umbridge, and now his fox was chasing some poor cat. Completely ignoring the warnings from a nearby group of younger boys, Kevin walked into the middle of the room and waited. When the two ran by him, he struck. The red blur gave a startled yelp as it was jerked off of the ground by Kevin's firm grip on the back of his neck. Kevin held the struggling fox up to his face. When it tried to twist around to bite his hand, he gave a low growl deep in his throat. The fox stopped moving immediately and seemed to shrink in on itself in Kevin's hand. Several of the Gryffindors gave startled gasps as Kevin growled. None of them had ever heard a human make a sound like that before. It was a sound animals usually made, primal and menacing.

"I'm sorry about that. Tokalu here always has a problem with cats, and can't resist chasing them. I left him shut up in the dorm today, so someone must have let him out." At this, Dean and Seamus, both crammed onto the same windowsill, looked guilty. Kevin saw them, but decided not to say anything. "Whose cat is that, anyways?" he asked, gesturing to the giant striped orange cat who was not perched on the back of a wooden chair which had been hurriedly vacated by a terrified looking first year.

"He's mine," Hermione said. "His name is Crookshanks."

"Bloody menace," Ron muttered, who also bore several long scratched on his arms. Hermione pulled Crookshanks off of the chair and sat down at the table she and Ron had previously been standing on. Throughout the room, the others cautiously climbed down from the furniture and began to collect their scattered homework from the floor. Kevin sat at the same table as Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but was careful to keep Tokalu well away from the cat Hermione continued to hold.

"I'm really sorry about that. I'll have to be more careful about keeping him up in the dorm from now on."

"It's okay, but how did you get a fox as a pet, and how is he allowed in Hogwarts?" Hermione asked. "Pets are normally limited to owls, cats, and toads."

"I got permission from Dumbledore to bring him over the summer. I didn't want to leave him in America for an entire year. As for how I got him, I found him wandering around by himself when he was young. I couldn't find the den he came from, so I took care of him and he's refused to leave ever since. He also knows better than to bite me, because I bite harder than he does."

"You bite him?" Hermione asked, outraged.

"Only once." Kevin quickly defended himself, hoping to mollify the indignant witch. Since then, he's never tried to bite me again. Normally, he's very well mannered." Kevin dropped Tokalu onto the table as he spoke. Giving Kevin a baleful glare, the fox curled up on the table to go to sleep. "How long were those two chasing each other before I got here?" Kevin asked the others.

"About five minutes. Before that, Tokalu was just running around trying to avoid all of the girls who wanted to pet him. Speaking of which, here they come," Ron warned, before a gaggle of girls descended upon Kevin, led by Parvati and Lavender.

"Oh, look how cute it is. Can we pet him? Where did you get him? How long have you had him? Does he bite? Can I hold him?" The torrent of questions poured from a dozen mouths too fast for Kevin to understand half of their questions. Kevin looked to Ron and Harry for help, but neither made any move to step in. Ron was grinning as he watched the girls mob Kevin, while Harry was just glad their attention was focused on someone other than him.

It was Tokalu who finally came to his recue. Irritated about all of the noise, he snapped at the first hand to try to pet him, inciting a chorus of shrieks and a general retreat from the girls. "He doesn't like anyone interrupting his naps, and is cautious around strangers," Kevin told them, trying to act apologetic while silently thanking his fox for the assistance.

Only one person was undeterred by Tokalu's sudden display of ferocity. Ginny pushed her way through the crowd and reached out to pet Tokalu without hesitation. When he snapped at her hand, she just glared him into submission, before gently stroking his head. "There now, you're such a handsome fox," she cooed. "You don't like it when too many people crowd around you?"

Kevin could only stare at the daring redhead with everyone else. Eventually he found his voice enough to ask, "How did you do that? I've never seen him behave nicely to a complete stranger before. It took over a year before any of my roommates back in America could pet him without being bitten."

"You just need the right touch and to treat him like the beautiful animal he is," Ginny took a seat in an empty chair as she spoke. Tokalu immediately leaped into her lap and curled up to continue his nap.

"Show off," Kevin muttered. Tokalu just ignored him and shifted slightly in Ginny's lap.

"How was your meeting with Professor Vector?" Hermione asked him once the excitement had died down.

"It was fine. She seems like a good teacher, and was impressed with a few of the projects that I did last year. Later this week I'll take a test to see what I need to work on for the class."

"That's great. I would be glad to help you catch up to the class if you need it."

"Calm down Hermione. Wait until he knows what to study before creating a schedule for him." Ron turned to Kevin before continuing. "You don't want her managing your studies or you won't have any free time."

"I think I'll be fine. I really should start some of my homework tonight, though. You probably should too, Harry."

"Why would you start on your homework now? It's only the first day of classes." Ron asked Kevin.

"Because Harry and I have detention every other evening this week, so we won't have much time to work on it then."

Harry gave a heavy sigh from his chair. "I guess you're right. Snape's essay on the invigoration draft will take all night, and there's the dream diary for Trelawney." Reluctantly, Harry pulled himself up and ascended the stairs to retrieve his books. Kevin pulled the necessary materials from his bag and set to work. Potions was not his best class, but he was competent enough, though one lesson with Snape was already making him dislike the subject. Harry joined him, and the two worked on the essay while Hermione studied Ancient Runes and Ron flattened Neville in a game of wizards chess.

By the time the two had finished with their essay, the majority of the students had already headed up to bed. The common room was now nearly silent. Only the low murmur of voices and turning pages broke the silence from the few remaining students diligent doing homework. Tokalu had also disappeared, and Kevin had a suspicion that his fox had followed Ginny up to her dormitory. Kevin stood up and stretched while stifling a yawn.

"I think I'm heading to bed," he announced to the others.

"All right, I just want to finish the conclusion." Harry told him. Hermione just nodded, still immersed in her Arithmancy book. Kevin peered over her shoulder and fought back a smile. She was already on chapter eight, which he knew the class hadn't covered yet. Ron followed him up to the dormitory, leaving Harry and Hermione down in the common room. As quietly as he could, so he didn't wake Dean, Seamus, and Neville, Kevin got ready for bed and pulled the scarlet hangings shut around his bed. He quickly scribbled a few sentences about his first day at Hogwarts in his black leather bound book before closing his eyes and quickly falling asleep.

Kevin silenced his alarm with a flick of his early the next morning before dragging himself out of bed and changing into comfortable, loose clothes for exercising in. He silently slipped out of the dorm and descended to the common room, where he dropped and began his usual routine of push-ups and sit-ups. After half an hour, he carefully opened the portrait hole and climbed out of the tower. After finding long staircase that didn't move, he began sprints up and down the flight of stairs while occasionally taking short breaks to regain his breath.

He returned to the common room, clothing soaked with sweat, shortly after the sun rose above the mountains to shine directly on the castle, only to encounter an angry portrait when he tried to re-enter the tower.

"What have you been doing out of the tower at this hour, and why are you covered in sweat?" The fat Lady demanded after Kevin had woken her up by shouting.

"I was running, and I just want to get back in the tower to take a shower."

"I bet. What were you really doing, planning pranks on other students? Vandalizing a teacher's office?" She demanded to know. "Were you running away from a teacher? Or," she began with a sly smile and raised eyebrows, "Were you having an early morning rendezvous with a girlfriend after only one day?"

Kevin couldn't prevent himself from turning bright red at the portrait's insinuations. "No," he protested weakly. "I was just running for exercise. Have you never heard of that before? I've already told you the password is Mimbulus Mimbletonia, so let me in!"

"Humph!" the Fat Lady grunted, before grudgingly swinging open to allow him entry. The common room was still deserted because of the early hour. Kevin rushed up to his dorm to quickly showered and prepare for the day. A tousle haired Ron was just struggling out of bed when he emerged from the shower.

"Hurry up, Ron, or you'll be late for breakfast," Kevin told him. Grabbed his bag, which he hadn't bothered to unpack the previous night and still contained all of his course books, Kevin left to find his way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. He thought he heard Ron mutter something about being too happy in the morning. In the Great Hall, Neville was the only one Kevin recognized at the Gryffindor table. Taking a seat beside him, Kevin pulled a pile of French toast over and piled some onto his plate.

"How do you like classes so far?" Neville timidly asked Kevin after several minutes of silent eating.

"The two I've had so far weren't that great. Professor Snape seemed to hate me for no reason and Umbridge doesn't even deserve to be called a professor if she won't even let us use magic in class. I also got detention for a week, although Professor McGonagall did manage to keep Umbridge from taking house points."

"Well, you had the two worst teachers on the first day. Snape's the head of Slytherin house and hates everyone else, especially Gryffindors, and Umbridge just seems to hate everybody. I don't even know how she became a teacher. At least today we have Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration, and Charms. Those classes aren't nearly as bad as Snape's and Umbridge's ones."

"I'll hold you to that. If the rest of the classes here as bad as my Monday ones, I might try to transfer somewhere else instead," Kevin joked, before quickly falling silent at two new arrivals.

"Why would anyone want to leave here?" George asked.

"No school is better than here," Fred added.

"Especially if you want mayhem," Continued George.

"You better stay at Hogwarts," the two finished together.

Kevin let out a small groan before looking beseechingly at Neville. "I've only been here for two days and they're already driving me insane. How have you stood five years with them?"

"George, it looks like someone here doesn't appreciate our talents," Fred said.

"I agree, Fred. We just might have to show the new kid a few of our talents," George said.

"A marvelous idea, dear brother, a marvelous idea," Fred told George. Neville had gone from smiling at the twins antics to surreptitiously down the bench away from Kevin with a look of alarm on his face. Several others at the Gryffindor table were nervously watching Kevin and the twins as well. Kevin himself seemed unconcerned as he continued to eat his breakfast. Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived at the same time that he was finishing.

"What class do you have next?" Kevin asked Neville after the other three Gryffindors began eating quickly, as breakfast would end in only ten minutes.

Neville looked a little surprised by this, but he didn't hesitate to answer. "I have a free period before break and then Care of Magical Creatures after that. I was hoping to start on the potions essay for Snape before then. I don't want to give him any more reasons to take points from Gryffindor."

"What other reasons would he have to take points from Gryffindor? I've heard that you're really good in Herbology, so you should understand many of the ingredients that are used. After that, it's just adding everything in the right order and following the directions for stirring and temperature," Kevin told him.

"I've never been very good at Potions, or most other classes for that matter. I'm just not a very good wizard. Herbology doesn't require much magic, that's why I like it so much."

"With an attitude like that, it's no wonder you aren't very good at half of your classes. The correct incantation and wand movement are only half of spell casting. Will and determination is just as important. You have to believe that you can do the spell, not just say a few words and wave your wand in the hope that something happens. As for potions, I think Professor Snape is the main problem for half of the class. You'll do fine if you can manage to ignore him and just focus on the potion."

"Really?" a stunned Neville asked. "I've never heard that before."

"That's one of the first things we learn at Salem. That's probably part of your problem. Anyway, let's head back to the common room. I'll help you with the potions essay and then you can show me where the Care of Magical Creatures class is." Kevin offered.

"All right." Neville quickly finished the last few bites of his breakfast and showed Kevin a shortcut from the Great Hall to Gryffindor Tower that was only available on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Kevin spent the next hour working with Neville on the potions essay before it was time for Care of Magical Creatures class. Neville again led the way down to the ground floor and out of the front doors while explaining some of the class to Kevin.

"Our normal teacher's not here for some reason, but we've had Grubbly Plank before and she's alright. Our normal professor, Hagrid, is part giant and doesn't seem to like any creature unless it can cause severe injuries. Last year he had these things called Skrewts that were awful. They were some sort of crossbreed between fire crabs and manticores, and were really hard to control. We were lucky no one was seriously injured last year. The last of them were even put into the maze for the Third Task." At this, Neville looked down and was silent as they strode across the lawn to where a group of students was gathered around a table covered with a pile of moving sticks.

"Great, we're with the Slytherins again," Neville muttered as they joined the group. Malfoy and his cronies were taunting Harry, Ron, and Hermione about something, but Grubbly Plank began speaking and they quickly moved apart.

"Today we'll be studying bowrtuckles…" Grubbly Plank began, but Kevin wasn't paying much attention. He had already studied bowtruckles before and didn't wish to listen to the lecture again. Because he wasn't listening, Kevin didn't immediately notice when the class began moving to grab a bowtruckle. "Come on, groups of three," Grubbly Plank told him. You can work these two. She pointed over at two Slytherins, one he recognized as Blaise Zabini from potions the previous day. The other was a tall, thin girl with piercing hazel eyes and long blond hair.

"Daphne, this is Kevin Kohana. Kevin, this is Daphne Greengrass," Zabini introduced the two.

"So you're the new Gryffindor? You look like you could give Crabbe and Goyle a run for their money in a fight. Malfoy was going on and on about how he was going to have Crabbe and Goyle beat you up when you're alone. I think they might have some trouble with you, though."

"You can tell Malfoy that he's welcome to try, but he should be prepared for a fight. I don't plan on standing there waiting for him," Kevin told her sharply.

"I would hope not. I want to see that little git punished for his big mouth for once. He needs to learn some manners," she ranted, gesturing with her arms and completely ignoring Kevin's tone. "He thinks he's a saint just because he's daddy's precious little boy."

Kevin just stared at her for a few moments. This went against everything that he had learned in his two days at Hogwarts. "You mean you want me to beat up Malfoy?" he asked disbelievingly.

"What did you think I was talking about? I have no intention of helping Malfoy antagonize the Gryffindors. He usually comes off worse in most of the fights he picks with any of the older students. He talks big but really doesn't have any real power unless he has half a dozen others with him. Despite how he talks, Malfoy doesn't run Slytherin house and most of us don't like him. His only real power comes from his father and his gang of cronies."

"Sorry. From what everyone else says, everyone in Slytherin is like Malfoy," Kevin told them both.

Zabini joined the conversation here. "Most of Slytherin isn't like he is. You-Know-Who and his followers, as well as those like Malfoy, have changed everyone's view of Slytherin. Our house is for the cunning and ambitious, not dark wizards like everyone thinks it is. I'll admit, most Slytherins don't like the other houses very much, but that's mainly because everyone else treats us as evil. Malfoy and his group also tend to beat anyone up that who is friendly with the other houses, especially Gryffindor."

"Come on, you lot, get to work!" Grubbly Plank ordered them, suddenly appearing behind them, "Everyone else has already started and you haven't even picked out a bowtruckle yet." The three of them hurried to grab one of the few remaining stickmen and sat down on a dry patch of grass.

"Here, I'll hold it first so you can sketch it," Kevin offered, earning a small smile and nod of thanks from the two Slytherins. The rest of the class passed quickly with little talk between them. When the bell rang for lunch, the entire class walked back up to the castle, the group of Gryffindors slightly ahead of the Slytherins.

Kevin chose a seat next to Ron at the Gryffindor table, and Neville took the seat across from him. "That class wasn't bad. I still wish Hagrid was here, but it was nice to work with something that wouldn't try to bite your arm off," Neville said.

"Speak for yourself. Our bowtruckle attacked Harry," Ron said, pointing to the bloody rag Harry had wrapped around his hand.

"Well at least it wasn't a Skrewt. I'd be lucky to still have a hand then," Harry joked. "I wonder where Hagrid is though. Grubbly Plank wouldn't tell us anything earlier." Hermione just shrugged while Ron attempted to speak with his mouth bursting with food.

After swallowing he managed "You don't think he's hurt, do you?"

"I don't think so," Here Harry dropped his voice so that only Ron and Hermione could hear. "Remember that Dumbledore gave him a mission over the summer. He's probably just not back yet, and Dumbledore doesn't want to draw any attention to him."

"That's probably it. I wouldn't worry too much about it, but we can ask Professor McGonagall after class today if you want," Hermione suggested.

"I'll probably do that. Thanks, Hermione." Harry told her.

"Come on, we need to go or we'll be late to Transfiguration. McGonagall won't hesitate to give us detention for the first class," Hermione demanded. With a sigh, all of the other Gryffindor fifth years followed her lead and left the table. They had learned long ago that it was not worth the argument for a few more minutes of lunch. They were almost out of the great hall before Hermione realized that someone was missing.

"Has anyone seen Kevin? I know he was here earlier?" she asked the entire group of Gryffindors. When they all shook their heads she started on another rant about responsibility and the foolishness of missing classes. Eventually Harry was forces to intervene before they were late for Transfiguration.

"Calm down, Hermione. He probably just went back to the tower to get his books and is waiting in the classroom already. We'll be late ourselves if we don't hurry." Using every shortcut he knew, Harry managed to get the group to Transfiguration just before the bell rang. Glancing around, it didn't take Harry long to realize Kevin wasn't in the class. Unfortunately, Hermione also noticed and kept trying to question the other Gryffindors throughout McGonagall's tirade about the importance of the Ordinary Wizarding Level tests at the end of the year. What harry thought was odd was that McGonagall didn't mention Kevin's absence once, and even told Hermione to mind get on with her work when she asked the professor.

Hermione was fuming as she stormed from the Transfiguration classroom. Harry and Ron quickly followed her, not wanting to be Kevin when she found him. It was fairly well known that Transfiguration was Hermione's favorite subject. She hated not knowing something, and it appeared that Professor McGonagall knew why Kevin was not in class, but would not tell anyone else.

Hermione walked so fast that they were the first ones to Charms class, or so it seemed at first. A tall figure was sitting in the back corner, instantly recognizable as Kevin from his size. As soon as she realized he was there, Hermione made a beeline for him.

"Why weren't you in Transfiguration?" she demanded. "This is the second class you've missed already! If you keep this up you won't be staying at Hogwarts. You'll surely be expelled."

"Calm Down!" Kevin demanded. "I'm still taking Arithmancy and Transfiguration, just not in the same class that you are. Both of the Professors know and gave their approval, as well as the Headmaster. I just didn't want to parade everything to the rest of the school. I'll explain everything during dinner; you just have to be patient. Everything will take a while to explain and I don't want any of the others to overhear."

Kevin was saved from Hermione's retort by the arrival of a large group of Hufflepuffs, quickly followed by the remaining Gryffindors. The tiny Professor Flitwick followed the Gryffindors in and took his place atop a pile of books behind his desk. Once the class was called to order Kevin zoned out as the Professor launched into a speech about the importance of OWLs similar to McGonagall's. Instead he tried to plan what he was going to tell Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Though they seemed great, he wasn't about to tell his entire life story to three people he had only met two days ago. Yet he had to tell them enough that Hermione would not be suspicious and dig for more answers. He was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he didn't notice the activity of the class around him.

"Mr. Kohana, perhaps you would like to join the class in practicing the summoning and banishing charm?" Professor Flitwick asked from his elbow.

Startled, Kevin looked up and noticed the cushions flying around the room. "Right. Sorry, Professor." With a casual flick of his wand two of the flying cushions abruptly changed direction and flew toward him and landed neatly on his desk. Another flick sent the cushions speeding into the target boxes.

"You can cast spells wordlessly?" the Professor asked him in surprise.

"Most of them. I still have to use the incantations for the high level transfiguration spells and when casting wards.

"Normally silent casting isn't taught at Hogwarts until the sixth year," Flitwick told him. "When did you learn?"

"I learned last year, but most won't begin learning how to cast spells silently until after Christmas this year. It was part of the advanced dueling classes I took," Kevin responded.

"If you can cast the spells wordlessly in this class, that is fine with me, but I would suggest asking your OWL examiners about it because they might want to see what spell you are casting."

"I will. Thanks for the advice, Professor." Kevin told him. The rest of the lesson passed by rather quickly with a quick review of many of the charms the class had learned the previous year. Kevin was able to cast all of them with little trouble, while many in the class struggles with several.

Soon enough, the class ended, and Kevin took his time to gather his things while Hermione waited at the door with Harry and Ron, looking impatient. "Come on, tell us why you're not in our Transfiguration and Arithmancy classes."

"Hang on, wait until we get to the Great Hall. I want a chance to eat before my lesson with Professor McGonagall and then Umbridge's detention. Harry probably wants to eat too." At Harry's nod, the four made their way down to the Great Hall with the rest of the students. "Sit over here," Kevin said, pulling them down at the far end of the table, away from anyone else. Before saying anything else, he pulled out his wand and waved it around them. The noise from the rest of the hall dropped to a whisper as the air shimmered slightly around the four.

"As I told you earlier, I'm still taking Transfiguration and Arithmancy, just not in the same class as you. I'm much more advanced in those two subjects than what is normally taught."

"So you're in the sixth year class?" Hermione asked.

"No. I'm way past the point of what is normally taught to seventh years here. The meetings I have with Professors Vector and McGonagall in the evenings are for any help I might need on my study projects for the year. I'm taking those two classes as independent study courses, and my passing or failing grade will be determined by what I accomplish on my chosen projects before the end of the year. Any questions?" While he was waiting, Kevin piled some food onto his plate and began to eat while waiting for the inevitable questions. He managed two quick bites before they began.

"How could you possible get that good this fast?" Hermione was the first to ask.

"Arithmancy is mainly from hard work. Since there is no need to cast spells, I started studying Arithmancy and Ancient Runes when I was seven, and was on par with most of the fifth years by the time I started school at eleven. I've had independent classes in those subjects since I started school, and passed the seniors sometime in my third year. Transfiguration just seemed to come naturally to me. I started with everyone else, but I quickly moved ahead of the rest in my year and began joining in advanced classes for Transfiguration as well." Kevin stopped to give them time to ask any questions. Hermione seemed shocked into silence, but Harry and Ron both looked impressed.

"Wow, Hermione, it looks like there's someone who can beat you in class now," Ron said.

Harry was a little more insightful than Ron, and actually asked an intelligent question. "You said you're ahead in Ancient Runes, so why aren't you taking it here?"

"I could have taken Ancient Runes too, but my Arithmancy project involves using a lot of ancient runes too, and it can only count for one subject. I really don't want to have to worry about another project while I'm here. I'm not even sure if my chosen Arithmancy project is possible, let alone something I'll be able to complete in a year."

"What are your projects?" Hermione finally managed to ask.

"For Transfiguration, I'm working on making small, easy to carry objects that can be animated for use in duels. Animating the objects is easy, but a two inch stone statue isn't much use in a duel. Engorgement charms interfere with the animation, so I have to find some way to both enlarge and animate the objects at the same time. Transfiguring objects from your surroundings takes time and concentration not available in most fights.

I'm working to incorporate a patronus charm into a shield ward for Arithmancy, so entire buildings can be protected from Dementors and Lethifolds all the time, especially since most people can't cast a patronus charm successfully. We don't have any Dementors in America, but there is the occasional lethifold attack. Professor Dumbledore was even interested in using the patronus ward at Hogwarts if I'm successful."

"It's not possible. There's no way you could be good enough to be inventing your own spells when you're only in fifth year." Hermione protested.

"Fine, I can prove it. Give me something from the seventh year curriculum," Kevin told her.

" Human to animal transfiguration," Hermione replied promptly.

Kevin gave a small smile as he pulled out his wand. "If you insist," he said. Hermione realized just what she had gotten herself into too late. She opened her mouth, but Kevin tapped the top of her head with his wand before she could make a sound. A moment later, a German Shepherd had replaced Hermione. Ron immediately began laughing, and Harry joined in when Hermione gave a frustrated bark. Kevin waved his wand again and the dog transformed back into a very angry looking Hermione. "Will that work as a demonstration, or would you like something a little larger? I'm pretty good with horses, too." Kevin commented.

This caused Hermione to turn red in fury while Harry and Ron laughed even harder. "That's great. Can you teach me that one to use on Malfoy?" Ron asked when he finally caught his breath.

"I won't teach you that exact one. I think you would prefer to turn Malfoy into something that didn't have a mouth full of sharp teeth," at this both Ron and Harry nodded in agreement. "It's also a NEWT level spell, so you'll have to work hard at it. Human transfiguration is dangerous if any mistakes are made so you'll have to start with the basics of human to animal transfiguration and work from there. I don't like him, and neither do you, but I still don't think you want to end up replacing his heart with his foot. Your wizarding prison is known as one of the worst in the world."

Ron nodded in understanding again. "I'll just leave the transfiguration to you, then."

"If you can, turn him into a ferret. Our defense professor last year, Alastor Moody, turned him into a white ferret and bounced him around the entrance hall last year when he tried to attack me," Harry told him.

"I can imagine that. He already looks like a ferret," Kevin said while grinning. Hermione still looked angry, but was fighting to keep a smile off of her face.

"Yeah, and maybe you can turn Crabbe and Goyle into gorillas at the same time," Ron exclaimed.

"I don't think that would be the best idea either. Gorillas are much stronger than humans are. That, and I don't want to get into too much trouble. I already have detention for the rest of the week, and I don't want to make Professors McGonagall or Vector any angrier at me." No one spoke immediately, which gave Kevin time to take several hurried mouthfuls of food. He wanted to eat something before his extra classes and detention. Since the questions had stopped, Kevin took down the privacy wards with a few waves of his wand, and the rest of the meal passed quickly.

Soon enough, Kevin and Harry both left, Kevin to meet with Professor McGonagall and Harry for his detention with Professor Umbridge. "Good luck," Kevin told Harry when the two parted ways.

"I'll keep her busy until you can come. I just hope we aren't kept too late because I still have some homework to finish." Harry told him.

"Come in," Professor McGonagall called when Kevin knocked on her office door a few minutes later. "Have a seat. I wanted to test you on your transfiguration skills before we proceed." She handed him a pillow. "Please change this into a cloak for me." Without ceremony, Kevin waved his wand and the pillow transformed into a well mad cloak with silver fastenings. After that, Kevin proceeded to perform more and more difficult changes all evening.

"That will be enough," McGonagall finally said when Kevin changed his leg into that of a bear and back. "I am pleased with your skills, and am confident that there is no point in sitting through the NEWT classes. Are you still sure you want to take the OWLs and NEWTs with your classmates and not earlier?"

"I'm sure."

"All right, Mr. Kohana. We will meet again on Thursday. You had better hurry so you are not late for your detention with Professor Umbridge." McGonagall ushered him out of her office before retreating back inside and shutting the door with a snap. Sighing, Kevin made his way to Professor Umbridge's office and was granted entry when he knocked.

"Please take a seat beside Mr. Potter, Mr. Kohana," She told him. "You will be doing lines today with a special quill of mine." Umbridge gave a small girlish giggle when Kevin sat down. Harry looked over at him and frowned, but did not say anything. "Here you go dear," Umbridge said as she slid a piece of parchment and a sharply pointed quill in front of him. "I would like you to write 'I will respect my superiors' for me until the message has sunken in. I do not want to hear you and Mr. Potter conversing or it will be another night of detention for both of you."

"I don't have any ink." Kevin told her, barely managing to keep his voice level.

Umbridge gave a wide smile when she replied. "You won't be needing any ink. Now please get to work." Umbridge returned to her desk, and missed the glare Kevin sent at her retreating back. Being talked to like a five year old was really getting on his nerves. Harry had already returned to his lines, so Kevin began writing as well. Glistening red ink without an apparent source traced the letters into the parchment as Kevin wrote 'I will respect my superiors.' Pain flared along the back of his hand as soon as the quill had left the parchment. The words he had just written on the parchment were being engraved into the back of his hand. As quickly as it had begun, the burning faded and smooth, unmarred skin replaced the cuts.

Kevin looked up to see Umbridge smiling sickeningly at him again. Not wanting to give her the pleasure of complaining, he unknowingly copied Harry's actions earlier and continued writing. Hours passed as both Harry and Kevin sat cutting their hands open while writing with their own blood. Kevin spent most of the detention plotting his revenge against Umbridge while trying to think of a way to get out of the detentions. He was fairly sure they were using blood quills, which had been outlawed in most countries decades before. He would have to check Britain's laws when he got the chance.

Finally, when Kevin guessed it was one in the morning, Umbridge finally allowed them to leave her office. The backs of both of their hands were red and irritated, but the quills marks were still fading each time. "Is she allowed to do that for a detention?" Kevin asked Harry once the two of them were out of earshot from Umbridge's office.

Harry just shrugged. "I'm not going to complain to the other teachers. There isn't much that most of them could do, and Professor Dumbledore is in enough trouble with the ministry as it is. I don't want to give them an excuse to replace him with another ministry toady."

"Are you sure? I don't think that that is legal. We might be able to get her fired."

"I doubt it. If we complain the ministry will just pass a law enabling her to do anything as a punishment. Her idea is still better than the caretaker's idea of a detention. He wants to be able to hang people by their thumbs in the dungeons," Harry told him.

"You're kidding?" Kevin asked cautiously.

"No. The caretaker here, Filch, hates most of the students. We should probably get back to the common room before he finds us out after curfew. I wouldn't doubt he would give us another detention even though its Umbridge's fault we're out. Somehow I don't think she would help us either."

"I doubt it," Kevin agreed. "I want to get some sleep tonight as well." The two walked up to the seventh floor, and entered Gryffindor tower after listening to the lecture from the Fat Lady. Both were exhausted, and quickly changed for bed without waking any of the others in their dorm.

"Kevin, please don't tell Ron and Hermione about the detentions. I don't want them to worry about it." After a moment's deliberation, Kevin agreed, although he still planned to get revenge eventually. He wasn't going to let one teacher ruin his year at Hogwarts.


End file.
